Sea & Sage Audubon’s July Bird of the Month is the Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), a tiny songbird that has become a familiar sight in Orange County over the past three decades. Native to South and Southeast Asia, the Scaly-breasted Munia is not native to California. It is believed to have become established in Southern California through escaped or released pet birds and is now commonly found in brushy riparian habitats, grasslands, parks, and gardens. Highly social, these active little birds are often seen in noisy flocks, climbing grass stalks in search of seeds or foraging on the ground. Adult munias are easy to recognize by their rich chocolate-brown upperparts, dark heads, stout black beaks, and distinctive pale underparts covered with scale-like markings that give…