Common Myna
One of the world’s most invasive species, this feral, pesky member of the starling family has taken to urban living like a duck to water
There is one species of bird that many of us may have encountered on travels that involved entering the urban areas of some of the world’s cities. But it probably features on few urban birder’s lists. Why? Because the populations met with are usually feral or more accurately, naturalised or ‘introduced’. The species of which I speak is the Common Myna. Also known as the Indian Myna and sometimes simply as Myna or Mynah, this perky bird is a member of the starling family. Originally a native of southern Asia, encompassing the Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia and south- east China, it is an omnivorous woodland denizen by nature, that has taken to urban living like a duck to water.
Myna is a name given to any member of the starling family in the Indian subcontinent. The Myna has been named as one of the world’s most invasive species and is one of only three bird species listed among the ‘100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Species’. It represents a threat to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests. In Australia it poses a particularly serious threat to ecosystems and is named “the Most Important Pest Problem”. They are deemed as “rats with wings” due to their lack of discretion when it comes to foraging. To add to the list of derogatory names for this species, they are also referred to by our Australian friends as “the Cane Toad of the sky”.
This species appears to be pre-adapted to life in our cities, seeing urban habitats as a sprawling scattered woodland. They are generally viewed as a nuisance, breeding in and on city buildings, classically blocking gutters and drains with their nests.
What is a Myna? To our British eyes there is something very starling-like about it. It has the build of a large, chunky
Starling although is mostly brown with a black hood while its bare parts; bill, legs and skin behind the eye, are bright yellow. Mynas are best known for their mimicking ability and are among the top ‘talkers’ in the avian world, being able to replicate human speech with unerring accuracy. That said, it is the related Hill Myna that wears the crown when it comes to learning phrases. In the wild, Common Mynas have plenty to say for themselves, continually squawking, whistling and croaking. They are communal birds gathering in large, vociferous night-time roosts, often vocalising in unison.
A global problem
The Common Myna has been introduced to many parts of the world, including countries as diverse as Canada and USA, Australia and New Zealand, Israel and some of the ‘stans’, like Kazakhstan. I remember seeing them in almost every urban setting I came across in Israel. It was not until I visited Sri Lanka that I was able to ‘truly’ add them to my world list. They are not much loved in most of their surrogate range.
They are considered a pest in Singapore, where they also compete with another introduced cousin, the Javan Myna. Australia has the worst problems with this invasive species. Introduced in the late 1800s as a measure to control insects, they quickly spread. They are prolific breeders. From an initial introduced population of 110 birds between 1968 and 1971, Canberra experienced a population explosion. By 1991, the Australian capital had a Common Myna population density of 15 birds per square km rising to 75 per square km just three short years later.
In South Africa, they escaped into the wild in 1902 and are now very common, especially in urban centres. They have taken to ejecting other native species from their nests and killing their young. Meanwhile, in Hawaii, it is outcompeting many of the native birds for food; and nesting areas and on Fregate Island, Seychelles, the mynas there are suspected of taking the eggs and young of the critically endangered Seychelles Magpie Robin.
Picking fights with the locals
The main threat the myna poses to the native birds in the countries where it has been introduced, is as a hole nester. Using pre-existing chambers, males will aggressively force out the original occupants. In Australia, the aggressiveness of the males is enough to even drive away large species like Galahs from their nests. These parrots have formidable bills, so it is surprising that they are so easily dominated.
The Common Myna also maintains two communal roosts simultaneously. A temporary summer roost close to the nest where all the local males rest, plus a permanent all-year roost. Although they sometimes share these roosts with Jungle Mynas, Rose-coloured Starlings, crows and Cattle Egrets within their normal range, both sexes fiercely defend the roosts, leading to further skirmishes with native birds.
They can gather in flocks ranging from 100 to many thousands that perform preand post-roost aerial manoeuvres. And if the aforementioned destructive behaviour of the introduced birds is not enough, mynas can also cause devastation at fruit farms.
So, there are not a lot of nice things to be said about the Common Myna outside of their natural range. In Sanskrit literature, it is called chitranetra, meaning picturesque eyes. But, in keeping with how I have been depicting the Common Myna, it is also fittingly called the kalahapriya, which means ‘one who is fond of arguments’.