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Friday, June 12, 2009

Common Myna

Probably the most abundant and ubiquitous bird on Oahu, the Common Myna was introduced to Hawaii from India in 1865 by Dr. William Hildebrand to combat invasive Army worms. Hawaii has never been the same since. These birds nest in trees but also on buildings and bridges, and are found walking on parking lots, lawns, and beaches all over Oahu.

In the United States, the only other place to see them is in south Florida, where they have become more and more common since first reported in 1983.




I took these shots on Oahu with a Canon PowerShot through my 7x42 Zeiss binoculars.

2 comments:

Amila Salgado said...

It doesn't appear to be the SL subspecies: melanosturnus, which as the name suggests is dark breasted.

The post orbital patch in this bird, as in some other birds that find food on the ground is shaped somewhat like a beak and similarly coloured too. It is a 'pseuo beak' in my opinion. This gives the impression that it is looking backwards in its 'pseuod-face'. This in my opinion is an adaptation to deter ground predators who would usually attack when the prey is unaware.

anushka said...

nice picture.i was posting a video of myna.
i will link to this blog

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