How to Care for Tri Coloured Nuns

Written by the Birdsville team. Last updated October 2026.

Tri coloured nun care comes down to a quality seed and crumble diet, plenty of greens, some fruit, and extra protein in the breeding season. The tri coloured nun, also called the tricoloured munia or tri coloured mannikin, is a smart little finch with a black head, a rich chestnut back and a white belly. This guide covers how to care for tri coloured nuns, from diet and breeding to housing and health, with a full shopping list of the supplies we recommend, delivered Australia-wide by Petsville.

Tri coloured nun with black head, chestnut back and white belly — The tri coloured nun, named for its black, chestnut and white plumage.

Tri Coloured Nun Quick Facts

Scientific name: Lonchura malacca
Also known as: Tricoloured Munia, Tri Coloured Mannikin
Native range: southern India and Sri Lanka
Adult length: around 11 to 12 cm
Lifespan: commonly around 5 to 7 years
Diet: finch mix, Birdsville Blend, crumble, greens, fruit
Housing: pairs or groups, in a cage or aviary
Breeding season: September to March
Clutch: around 5 white eggs, incubated for about 13 days
Sexing: difficult, males have a slightly larger lower beak and sing
Temperament: peaceful
Experience level: beginner to intermediate

Tri Coloured Nun Shopping List

Everything in this guide is available from Petsville, which delivers Australia-wide, or in-store at Birdsville in Sydney.

Live food, grey striped sunflower seed and nest boxes are available in-store at Birdsville.

Tri Coloured Nuns in the Wild

Tri coloured nuns are native to southern India and Sri Lanka. They live in tall grass and reed beds, usually in damp, low lying areas near water.

Housing and Nail Care

Tri coloured nuns are peaceful birds that suit a cage or an aviary, kept in pairs or small groups. Provide perches of different thicknesses, a shallow bath, and separate dishes for seed, crumble, grit and water.

Like other nuns and munias, tri coloured nuns can grow long, curved nails that catch on wire and nesting material. Check their nails regularly, and have them trimmed carefully if they get too long. See our Wing Clipping and Nail Clipping page (https://birdsville.net.au/wing-clipping-nail-clipping/).

Seasonal tip: Tri coloured nuns come from a warm climate. In winter, keep them out of draughts, shelter outdoor aviaries from cold southerly winds, and add gentle heating in cold areas. In summer, give them shade, a bath, and Vetafarm Spark Liquid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-spark-liquid-50ml) in the water on very hot days.

Tri Coloured Nun Diet

Tri coloured nuns need a three part seed and crumble diet, plus greens, some fruit, grit, vitamins, calcium and fresh water every day, with extra protein in the breeding season.

Seed and Crumble

We recommend a three part diet, with each part doing a different job.

Basic Finch Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/avigrain-seed-finch-blue-2kg): an everyday base of white French millet, canary seed, Japanese millet and panicum.

Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blends-finch-canary-500g): our biggest selling finch blend. Mixed with the basic mix, it adds niger, hulled oats, linseed, vegetables, herbs and greens for extra variety and nutrition. Birdsville Blends are bagged fresh on site with a high turnover, so the seed never sits on a shelf, and buying from the people who mix it means better value.

Vetafarm Finch & Budgie Crumbles (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-finch-budgie-crumbles-450g): offered in a separate dish, or mixed with egg and biscuit, crumble gives balanced vitamins, minerals and protein that seed alone can’t.

Be wary of many supermarket and chain store mixes, which can contain a lot of filler seed and low quality grains that affect the health and vitality of your birds. If you’re unsure about your seed, ask a bird specialist. See our Finch Seed page (https://birdsville.net.au/seeds-grains/finch-seed/) for more.

Sprouted Seed

Grey striped sunflower, available in-store, can be added to your sprouted mix. Rinse sprouted seed thoroughly with Vetafarm Aviclens (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-aviclens-water-cleanser-100ml) before feeding. For how to make your own sprouted mix, see our Finch Care page (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/care-sheets/finch-care/).

Fruit

Paw paw and apple. Dried paw paw (https://petsville.com.au/products/dried-fruit-paw-paw-papaya-150gm) is an easy option to keep on hand.

Millet Sprays

Fresh seed still on the stem. We recommend French white millet sprays for tri coloured nuns. Buy them on Petsville (https://petsville.com.au/products/millet-sprays-mixed-100g).

Greens

Greens are an important part of the diet. Offer cucumber, seeding grasses, dandelion, endive, chickweed and the flowering heads of milk thistle.

Live Food

Live food isn’t essential for tri coloured nuns, but it should be offered in the breeding season. Feed mealworms and fly pupae with some insectivore mix, such as Insectivore Rearing Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/wombaroo-insectivore-rearing-mix-250g). Live food is available in-store at Birdsville.

Egg and Biscuit

An important protein supplement in the breeding season. Try Shep’s Egg & Biscuit (https://petsville.com.au/products/sheps-egg-biscuit-500g).

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential for breeding birds. Add them to the water, such as Vetafarm Multivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-multivet-50ml), because vitamins on seed are lost when finches remove the husk.

Calcium and Vitamin D

All birds need a steady supply of calcium for strong bones, healthy feathers and good eggs. We recommend Vetafarm Calcivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-calcivet-50ml), a liquid calcium supplement with vitamin D3 that goes in the drinking water. It’s especially important for birds kept indoors or out of direct sunlight, because window glass blocks the UV light birds need to make their own vitamin D. Breeding hens need extra calcium to lay strong eggs.

Grit

Use a fine grit mix containing charcoal, baked egg shell, shell, crushed cuttlebone and limestone, such as shell grit (https://petsville.com.au/products/shell-grit-5kg), in its own dish.

Breeding Tri Coloured Nuns

Tri coloured nuns breed from September to March. They nest in half open finch nest boxes, budgie nest boxes, woven wicker nests or thick bushes. Both sexes build the nest, so supply nesting material such as swamp grass and soft white feathers (https://petsville.com.au/collections/bird-subsrate).

The hen lays around 5 white eggs, and both parents share the incubation, which takes about 13 days. The young usually leave the nest at around 3 weeks old, and the parents keep feeding them for about another 3 weeks until they learn to crack seed for themselves. Offer extra egg and biscuit and live food while they’re raising chicks. Vetafarm Breeding Aid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-breeding-aid-100ml) on the seed also helps support fertility and chick growth.

Sexing Tri Coloured Nuns

Tri coloured nuns aren’t sexually dimorphic, so males and females look identical and are difficult to sex. The male usually has a slightly larger lower mandible, which is the bottom part of the beak. Only males sing a soft courtship song, so watching and listening over a few days is the best way to pick a pair.

Health and Parasite Control

Watch for fluffed up feathers, sitting still and inactive, a dirty vent, or a thin chest where the keel bone sticks out. A sick finch can go downhill within hours. Move it to a small, warm cage straight away, add Spark Liquid to its water, and see an avian vet. For more on finch health, see our Finch Care page (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/care-sheets/finch-care/).

Worm your tri coloured nuns every 3 months if they live outdoors, or every 6 months indoors, using Vetafarm Wormout Gel (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-wormout-gel-50ml). Spray birds, nests and the aviary with Avitrol Mite & Lice Spray (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-bird-mite-and-lice-spray-125ml) every 3 months, avoiding the eyes. Keep new birds separate for 4 to 6 weeks before introducing them, and give them Spark Liquid in their water for the first few days after a move.

Cleaning

Daily: fresh water, seed and crumble in clean dishes, blow husks off the seed, and remove old fruit, greens and egg food.
Weekly: clean the cage or aviary thoroughly.
Monthly: disinfect with Vetafarm Avicare (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avicare-rtu-500ml), clean or replace perches, and clean out nests after the young have left.

Compatibility with Other Finches

Tri coloured nuns are peaceful and mix well with other gentle finches, including other nuns and mannikins. For more on mixing birds, see our Mixing Different Species of Bird page (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/mixing-different-species-of-bird/).

Tri Coloured Nun Frequently Asked Questions

What do tri coloured nuns eat?

A three part diet of Basic Finch Mix, Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary and Vetafarm Finch & Budgie Crumbles, plus sprouted seed with a little grey striped sunflower, millet sprays, greens, and some paw paw and apple. Add egg and biscuit and live food in the breeding season, plus grit, vitamins and calcium.

How do you tell a male tri coloured nun from a female?

Tri coloured nuns are difficult to sex, because males and females look identical. The male usually has a slightly larger lower beak, and only males sing a soft courtship song. Watching and listening over a few days is the best way to pick a pair.

Is a tri coloured nun the same as a tricoloured munia?

Yes. The tri coloured nun, tricoloured munia and tri coloured mannikin are all names for the same bird, Lonchura malacca. It’s named for its three colours: a black head, a chestnut back and a white belly. It comes from southern India and Sri Lanka.

How do tri coloured nuns breed?

Tri coloured nuns breed from September to March in half open finch boxes, budgie boxes, wicker nests or thick bushes. Both parents build the nest with swamp grass and soft white feathers. The hen lays around 5 white eggs, and both parents share the 13 day incubation.

Do tri coloured nuns need live food?

Live food isn’t essential for tri coloured nuns, but it should be offered in the breeding season. Mealworms and fly pupae, plus egg and biscuit, give breeding pairs the extra protein they need to raise healthy chicks. Outside breeding, a quality seed and crumble diet with greens is enough.

Why are my tri coloured nun’s nails so long?

Like other nuns and munias, tri coloured nuns can grow long, curved nails, which can catch on wire and nesting material. Check their nails regularly, provide perches of different thicknesses, and have the nails trimmed carefully if they get too long. Our team can help.

Tri Coloured Nuns and Supplies at Birdsville

Tri coloured nuns are only rarely available at Birdsville, 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, servicing the Eastern Suburbs and Inner South Sydney. If you’re hoping to buy one, call us first on (02) 9669 1766 to check. Every product in this guide is available online from Petsville, delivered Australia-wide, or in-store. Live food, grey striped sunflower seed and nest boxes are available in-store. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petsvillesydney/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@birdsvillepets) for live updates.

About Birdsville

Birdsville has been trading in Sydney since 1985, and we believe we’re now the oldest bricks and mortar bird shop still open in Australia. Owner Ash brings experience from vet clinics and from zoo keeping at the Rainforest Habitat in Port Douglas, now Wildlife Habitat. We’re a small business that does things in a big way. Nobody tells us how to run things, so we keep our products the best of the best.