Common myna

The common myna, also called the Indian myna (Acridotheres tristis), belongs to the starling family and is originally from Asia. This bird lives in open woodlands, eats both plants and animals, and has a strong sense of territory. It has adapted very well to cities and towns. Its range is growing so fast that in 2000, the IUCN Species Survival Commission listed it as one of the world's worst invasive species, one of only three birds among the "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Species," threatening biodiversity, farming, and human activities.

The French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson described the common myna in his 1760 work *Ornithologie*, based on a specimen he mistakenly thought came from the Philippines. He called it *Le merle des Philippines* and *Merula Philippensis*. His Latin names don't follow the binomial system and aren't accepted by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. In 1766, Carl Linnaeus added 240 species from Brisson's work to the 12th edition of *Systema Naturae*, including this bird. Linnaeus gave it the binomial name *Paradisea tristis* and cited Brisson. The type location was later corrected to Pondicherry in southern India.

The species name *tristis* is Latin for "sad" or "gloomy." Today, the bird is placed in the genus *Acridotheres*, introduced by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek: *akrís* (genitive *akrídos*), meaning locust, and *thērḗs*, meaning hunter.

Two subspecies are recognized. The Indian myna (*A. t. tristis*) is found from southern Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and eastern Iran through southern China, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and southern India. It has also been introduced to Hawai‘i and North America. Some northwestern populations are sometimes separated as *A. t. neumanni*, while those from Nepal and Myanmar are described as *A. t. tristoides*. The Sri Lankan myna (*A. t. melanosternus*), described by Legge in 1879, lives in Sri Lanka. It is darker than the Indian subspecies, with half-black, half-white primary coverts and a larger yellow cheek-patch.

The common myna is easy to recognize: a brown body, a black hooded head, and a bare yellow patch behind the eye. Its bill and legs are bright yellow. It has rounded wings and a square-tipped tail. There is a white patch on the outer primaries, white wing linings underneath, and a white tail tip. Males and females look alike, and birds are usually seen in pairs. Following Gloger's rule, birds from northwestern India are paler than those from southern India.

Its calls include croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks, whistles, and growls. It often fluffs its feathers and bobs its head while singing. The common myna screeches warnings to its mate or other birds when predators are near or before taking flight. It is popular as a cage bird for its singing and "speaking" abilities. Before sleeping in communal roosts, they vocalize together in what is called "communal noise."

Body length is 23 centimeters (9.1 inches).

The common myna is native to Asia, originally ranging from Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, peninsular Thailand, Indochina, Japan (including the Ryukyu Islands), and China. It has been introduced to many other places, including Canada, Australia, Turkey, Israel, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, the United States (South Florida and Hawaii), South Africa, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Cayman Islands, and various islands in the Indian Ocean (the Seychelles—where it was later eradicated at great expense—Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep archipelago), as well as Atlantic islands (Ascension and Saint Helena), the Pacific Ocean, and Cyprus, as of February 2022. Its range is expanding so much that in 2000, the IUCN declared it among the world's 100 worst invasive species.

It typically lives in open woodland, farmland, and near human settlements. Though adaptable, its population is abnormally high and considered a pest in Singapore (where it is called *gembala kerbau*, meaning "buffalo shepherd") because it competes with the introduced Javan myna. The common myna thrives in urban and suburban areas. In Canberra, for example, 110 common mynas were released between 1968 and 1971. By 1991, their density averaged 15 birds per square kilometer. Just three years later, a second study found an average of 75 birds per square kilometer in the same area. This success in cities like Sydney and Canberra likely stems from its evolutionary origins in India's open woodlands, which pre-adapted it to habitats with tall vertical structures and little ground cover—features common to city streets and urban nature reserves.