Myna

Myna (Acridotheres, or Gracula of Cuvier), a genus of birds of the family Sturnidae, of which there are seven species ranging over the whole oriental region and Celebes. The head is more or less crested, and some have a naked space behind and under the eye; the bill is rather short, stout, and compressed; the tail is rounded; the feet are strong, the toes long, and the claws moderately curved. The Common Myna (A. tristis), which is found throughout India and extends into Assam and Burma, measures about 10 inches in length, and is of a glossy black colour on the head, neck, and breast; the rest of the plumage is snuff-brown, darkest on the back and wing-coverts, and lightest beneath; the wing-quills are black, with a white spot at their base, forming a conspicuous wing-spot; the tail is black, with a white tip; the bill is deep yellow; and the legs are dull yellow. It is one of the commonest birds of India, where it is found in large numbers, being eminently sociable in its habits. It feeds chiefly on insects, grain, and fruit. It makes its nest in nooks and eaves of houses and in holes in the walls of houses and ruins. The eggs, which usually number four or five, are pale bluish green in colour. It has a variety of notes, some musical and pleasing, others harsh. It is often domesticated, when it becomes pert and familiar, and a good imitator of the human voice, in this respect excelling parrots. This bird was introduced into Mauritius to destroy the grasshoppers, which it did very effectively; but in its turn, when naturalised there, it became a pest through its ravages among fruit trees.—The name Hill Mynas or Grakles (q.v.) is given to four distinct races of birds belonging to the genus Eulabes of Cuvier, or Gracula of Linnaeus, one from Southern India, another from Ceylon, a third from the Himalayas and Burma, and the last from Malaysia. They are birds of fine glossy plumage with prominent yellow wattles behind the ears. This genus comprises thirteen species found in the oriental region as far as south-west China, Hainan, and Java, and in the Australian region in Flores, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.