PASSERIFORMES
88 Sturnidae
Malaysian Birds
Mynas
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The common name of the bird is Myna. Spelled often with a "h" as Mynah, is a bird from the Starling Family -Sturnidae. The term "Myna" is used widely for any bird that looks like Starling, irrespective whether they are from the same family or not. Mynas are fair size birds passerines with strong feet, powerful flier and direct to their destination. Most species are gregarious and generally an open country bird in dark color and often with a tinge of brown. Worldwide there are 114 species and in south east Asia, there are 23 species. Found naturally in south and eastern Asia and in many countries as introduced species. The Common Myna with its habits and breeding rate is often regarded as a invasive species. The topic of Myna cannot be complete without the mention of "Soft-billed" birds. No! nothing to do with soft or hooked bills that the caged birds have. Soft-billed is a loose term used by pet lovers and is synonymous with the soft diet the birds are are fed on. Irrespective of whether the birds is Frugivorous, carnivorous or Insectivorous. The Hill Myna excel in this area for their excellent talking ability, but in general the Mynah Bird was once one of the most commonly kept softbills, but for some reason have lately become increasingly hard to find. Beside the Hill Myna who has the extraordinary ability to mimic, the rest of the Myna are no song bird. Their calls coarse but loud. The Mynas could be divided into 3 types. 1. Those seen in the forested areas - Jungle and Hill Mynas - as their common names imply 2. The "true" Mynas, as seen in urban places - as in White-vented Myna, Crested & Javan Myna 3. Those named as Starlings - as Vinous-breasted Starling, Asian-pied Starling etc. This page is devoted to the 5 birds seen in Malaysia and named as Mynas
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The common Mynas that we see in our garden and in public parks, are the Common Myna and the Javan Myna. Both species are sharing almost identical body colors. They gather in flocks, unconcerned with human presence. That gives the impression, that Mynas are such common birds. In fact, they are 2 very often seen species. True, they are prolific in their propagation too, perhaps all because these more commonly seen species are not choosy about food and are readily available.
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88 Sturnidae
Starlings
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Starlings are open country birds that eats fruits
and insect with habit of using the bills to pry open the food
source. They have strong feet and flight. Most species that I have
seen in Malaysia likes to live in habitats with humans.
They nest in holes and most species are in dark and metallic colors. A couple of facts about Starlings. They were said to have diverse and complex vocalizations. This can be seen exhibited by our Hill Mynas. As for most other Starling, their calls are simple single or two shrills notes then a series of low whispering murmurs. Next would be the special characteristic of Starling. They are social birds living in large family and some species are associated with flock behavior called murmuration. This phenomenon of grouping and flying as a flock were what we see as large black clouds doing acrobatic in the air on TV. . Flocking starlings are one of nature’s most extraordinary sights. The flock need not be from one species, among them could be other species of Starling and also other species of the family group. The science of Murmuration was studied and found that it is basically created by the behavior of the bird's "Do what you neighbor do!". In Malaysia, we do get to see that million of birds together but the show of darting about is displayed by the visiting Purple-backed Starlings with flocks of over a few hundred birds. Then this habit of other habit of grouping together on a tree is most evident at the time roosting, also by the Purple-backed Starling. The get-together is more clear in the non-breeding season. There are both resident and migratory species From the table above, the birds that I have featured on this page are those marked in orange color. As usual, I have used the master list from Bird Life International as a guide. |
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Starlings are interesting birds as they seem to be everywhere and their shrill calls announce their presence. in the area. Most time they are seen alone and then sometimes they are seen as a pair. In Malaysia, we only get to see the Glossy Starling. The other Starlings mentioned in this page and Rosy are either migrants or vagrant are birds that we hardly seen. Two other points need emphasizing is that the Starling seen here could be noisy where they are roosting together otherwise, alone or in pair, I do not find their calls loud nor offensive. This contrary to many reports that their calls varies and are obvious. next, The Glossy Starling do make nest in the roof of houses. That shows that the bird is more domestic than being an entirely jungle dwelling bird. |
