Common mynah
The Common mynah (Acridotheres tristis) is a medium-sized bird known for its striking ability to mimic human speech and other sounds. Typically measuring 9 to 10 1/4 inches in length and weighing around 3 4/5 to 5 ounces, these birds possess dark gray-brown plumage with contrasting white and black features. Common mynahs are social creatures, often found in family groups during the day and larger, vocal flocks at night. Their diet is diverse, consisting mainly of insects, fruit, and even human refuse, which can make them beneficial in pest control but also lead to conflicts with agriculture.
Originally inhabiting open lowland areas, Common mynahs have adapted well to urban environments and are now commonly seen near human settlements. They engage in unique behaviors, such as perching on large mammals like cows and rhinoceroses to feed on parasites. Breeding pairs are monogamous and can produce multiple broods each season, with nests built from various plant materials and often found in trees or urban structures. In the wild, these birds can live up to four years, while in captivity, they may exceed 15 years of age. The Common mynah’s adaptability and sociability make it a fascinating species worthy of study.
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Common mynah
Common mynahs are famous for their ability to imitate human speech. They eat many insect pests and even warn people of nearby snakes by screeching. Like their relatives, the oxpeckers, the common mynahs perch on the backs of cows and rhinos to eat insects.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Acridotheres
Species: Tristis
Common mynahs are 9 to 10 1/4 inches (23 to 26 centimeters) long and weigh 3 4/5 to 5 ounces (109 to 138 grams). Their wings span 4 3/4 to 5 1/2 (120 to 142 millimeters) and carry them up to 19 miles (30 kilometers) per hour. The dark gray-brown plumage, or feathering, on their backs, wings, and breasts becomes white on their bellies and underneath their tails. Tail feathers are black with white tips. Small, white patches also appear on the upper surfaces of their wings and large, white patches on the undersides of the wings when they are spread in flight. Bright-yellow patches underneath each eye match the color of their straight, pointed beaks.
Common mynahs once lived only in open lowland regions but they have moved to be neighbors to humans in nearly every part of their range. They can be helpful birds, eating insects and pests in fields of crops, but they may be pests themselves, preying on other birds' eggs and eating fruit and grain crops. In Australia, common mynahs are a particular problem and earned the nickname "flying rats."
The diet of common mynahs consists of insects, grubs, and worms which the birds find on the ground. They also consume mice, frogs, lizards, fruit, berries, flowers, nectar, seeds, and human household garbage. Like oxpeckers, these birds may perch on the backs of rhinoceroses and cows, waiting for insects to move or jump from the grass near the hooves of the animals.
When they are not breeding, common mynahs are social birds. They spend their daylight hours in family groups of four or five birds and then join large, noisy flocks to roost for the night. These flocks may contain other species of birds, and the mynahs may fight with each other and chatter loudly throughout the night.
Breeding season varies, as does the site of nests. Some mynahs nest in cities under the eaves of buildings. In wilder habitats, they nest in the tops of palm trees or empty tree holes abandoned by a squirrel or another bird. A pair of birds mate for life and use the same nest site each year. Nests are piles of grass, roots, and twigs, possibly with paper scraps and bits of foil or string woven into them. Males and females share the task of building the nests and raising the young after they hatch. The females lay four to five pale blue or turquoise eggs, which she does not have to incubate for the entire 13- to 18-day period because of the warm climate. The young mynahs fledge, or fly for the first time, when they are 22 to 24 days old. They reach maturity at one year. A pair of mynahs may have up to three broods, or groups, of young in one season.
When starvation and predators do not interfere, the young common mynahs may live up to four years in the wild. In captivity where conditions are safer and food is abundant, they may live to be more than 15 years old.
Bibliography
"Acridotheres Tristis." Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Acridotheres‗tristis. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.
"Myna Bird." A-Z Animals, 6 Apr. 2023, a-z-animals.com/animals/myna-bird. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.