One hotel I stayed at recently in Bali (the Ramada Bintang Bali Resort) had attractive gardens with a number of water fountains. These were a magnet for birds, specifically munias: small, gregarious seed eaters, also called minias or mannikins. One fountain was very much the preserve of White-headed munias (Lonchura maja) which were very abundant.
The White-headed munias flew down to the water fountain where they enjoyed a good bath, splashing and spreading their wings on the water.
There was also one Scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (Lonchura punctulata) at the fountain (below). There were a few other scaly-breasted munias lurking in the bushes, but this fountain was dominated by the white-headed ones. The juvenile White-headed munias have a more brown, or cinnamon-coloured head.
There were birds of all ages having a bath. The adults have white heads; the male’s is usually whiter than the female and becomes more bright and extensive as he ages (1). These birds are kept as cage birds in some countries in South-east Asia.
After bathing, the birds flew up into the nearby bush, which provided more protection than the exposed fountain.
Some birds also seemed to be doing a bit of sun-bathing to dry off!
I saw munias all afternoon at the fountain, so either new birds were coming in to bathe (possible) or some were spending quite a lot of time there, moving back and forth between the trees and the fountain.
There was another fountain, rather more shaded and further away from the preening tree, where I came across a pair of White-bellied munias (Lonchura leucogastra) (below).
It turned out that these pair of White-bellied munias were parents; they soon joined the youngsters back under the branches of a near-by tree (below).
The parents (on the right) were busy preening after having had a refreshing bath. It did not look however, like the youngsters had bathed. Perhaps they were still too young and it was too dangerous for them to venture out into the open?
The well-ordered line-up started to disperse and birds swapped places. The fluffy juvenile started to get some attention from one of the adults (below).
It was nice to see all of these birds enjoying the facilities of this hotel! Clearly, these are species which can thrive alongside man, if given a chance and not persecuted.
Ray Cannon's nature notes 
[…] Source: Munia mayhem […]