Editing Java sparrow (section)

===Aviculture===
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The Java sparrow has been a popular [[Cagebird|cage bird]] in Asia for centuries, first in China's [[Ming Dynasty]] and then in Japan from the 17th century, frequently appearing in Japanese paintings and prints. [[Meiji-era]] writer [[Natsume Sōseki]] wrote an essay about his pet Java sparrow. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Java sparrow was one of the most popular cage birds in the United States until its import was banned. Today it remains illegal to possess in California because of a perceived threat to agriculture, although rice-dependent Asian countries like [[China]], [[Taiwan]] and [[Japan]] have not regulated the bird.

In Asia the Java sparrow is most often raised almost from birth by human breeders and owners, and they become very tame and [[Imprinting (psychology)|attached to humans]]. As such, they can be normally kept in relatively small cages, but let out for indoor exercise without their attempting to escape. In captivity, a variety of colourations have been bred, including white, silver/opal, fawn/[[Isabelline (colour)|isabel]], pastel, cream and agate (which currently is rare within Europe captive specimens) along with the [[pied]] Java sparrow (called the ''sakura buncho'' in Japan).