This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Order: Passeriformes    Family: Sturnidae       Conservation Status: Least Concern

Description:

The Bank Myna is a medium sized bird measuring 20 to 24 cm in length and weighing 65 to 80 grams.
It has a black crown, wings and tail with slate-grey neck and mantle and pale grey underparts which become pale pink towards the centre of the abdomen. There is a small off-white wing patch at the base of the primary flight feathers and the tips of the outer tail feathers are also off-white. A small tuft of feathers can be seen on the forehead. The naked skin behind the eye is orange to brick-red whilst the iris itself is deep red. The beak and legs are orange-yellow.

There is no sexual dimorphism in adult birds.

Juvenile birds are similar to the adult but have a browner head and neck, paler throat and no forehead crest.

Call and Vocalisation:

Bank Mynas have a wide vocal repertoire including whistles, croaks, screeches, clucks and warbles. Its vocalisation can be quite persistent and perceived as constant chattering.

Bank Myna song
Bank Myna call

Range and Distribution:

The Bank Myna’s natural range is from the Himalayas (eastern Pakistan, northern India, southern Nepal, Bhutan) southwards through Bangladesh and central India towards the latitude of Mumbai. It is found at elevations of up to 1000 metres.

Within this range the species is mainly resident although some nomadic movements are recorded, driven by the weather and also food and water availability.

The range of the Bank Myna does seem to be expanding as the species extends further south within the Indian peninsula. Vagrant birds have been reported in Afghanistan.

Established introduced communities are recorded in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Taiwan and Japan.

The species is monotypic

Habitat:

The Bank Myna is found in urban areas, cultivated farmland and open country especially where opportunities for foraging food can be found.

Diet:

The Bank Myna is an opportunistic omnivore. It readily eats human food scraps along with fruits, grains, insects, frogs and snails. It will follow grazing cattle to feed off the insects from the disturbed ground or even to feed on the ticks on the cattle itself.

Breeding:

Bank Mynas derive their name from their habit of building a nest almost exclusively in river banks.
Breeding season typically runs from April through to July or August. Nests are constructed in the earthen walls of river banks or embankments. Occasionally holes in brick walls are exploited. The nest is formed by burrowing a tunnel in order to create a nest chamber that can be as much as 2 metres from the entrance. These tunnels can link between breeding pairs to create a breeding colony of up to 100 birds. The nest chamber is lined with grass, feathers, household waste and snake skins. A clutch of 4 to 5 glossy pale sky-blue or greenish-blue eggs is laid. The eggs are incubated, mainly by the female, for 13 to 14 days and the hatchlings fledge after a further 20 to 22 days. Both adults participate in the feeding and rearing of the chicks.

Behaviour:

Bank Mynas are gregarious birds, often seen foraging in flocks and roosting together in trees. It is a highly confident species and is not easily intimidated by humans.

Conservation Status:

The Bank Myna is considered to be a fairly common species across its range, except for Bhutan where it is relatively rare. Its confident, gregarious nature makes it highly resilient to most major predatory threats.