Bird says ‘thank you’ for food
MELAKA: Residents of a home here were pleasantly surprised when a wild Myna bird they have been feeding daily suddenly said “Terima kasih banyak” (thank you very much in Bahasa Melayu)!
The video of the incident has since gone viral.
In the 83-second video clip, the bird is seen perched on a porch railing. Next to it is an almost empty plate of rice.
The bird is heard saying “thank you very much” repeatedly.
The caption accompanying the video states that the event took place at a home here, where the bird is a daily visitor during lunch and tea time.
The caption adds that the bird uttered the words suddenly and unexpectedly after it was fed rice and water.
In the video, several women are heard speaking in the background, evidently surprised by the bird’s ability to talk.
One of the women offers the bird a bowl of water, saying: “You’re welcome. Drink up. You are clever. Drink up. It is boiled water.” The bird, however, declines the drink.
Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia co-founder and chief executive officer Andrew Sebastian said the species in the video was a Common Myna, which could be trained to mimic words .
“The Common Myna and its cousin, the Hill Myna, are usually victims of pet trade because they can be trained to talk.”
He said the bird in the video must have been kept as a pet and trained to speak before it escaped.
The Common Myna is abundant in Asia due to its adaptive nature. The species thrives in the urban environment and among human habitation.