Just be thankful we didn’t get the
Javan Myna in Australia
instead. It has been introduced into Singapore and is now rapidly expanding
into southern Malaysia knocking the endemic Common Myna (the bird’s correct
name!!) for six! I now find it hard to find the Common Myna in Singapore at
all.
Mark
From:
Bruce Lindenmayer [
Sent: Friday, 27 February 2009
10:04 PM
To: ;
'Canberra Birds'
Subject: [chat] INDIAN MYNAS
The discussion on the COG chat line, in my view, has missed
a few vital points and has taken the discussion in an irrelevant direction.
Dealing with the second issue first, there has been quite a
bit of discussion about Indian vs Noisy Miners. Clearly, both Noisy
& Bell Miners have adverse impacts on other native bird
species, and several studies have demonstrated this. But why
this should be related to Indian Myna threats is puzzling. We could talk about
lots of other pest species in the same context!
The Indian Myna has been classified by the IUCN as one of
the World's 100 Most Invasive Species and Australian National Vertebrate Pests
Committee as an "Extreme Threat". Anyone who has birdwatched in Cairns, Fiji
or in the leafy suburbs and urban parks in Melbourne is confronted with massive
populations, which clearly have excluded almost all small native birds. In Cairns I understand,
populations of between 500 & 1000 per sq km have been observed. Studies in
Canberra Nature Parks in the 1990s have confirmed agressive displacement of
native birds and mammals from nest hollows.
CIMAG has never pretended to have all the answers
on Indian Myna threats, and we are strongly supporting the work of Chris
Tidemann & Kate Grarock to ensure that the best science underpins our
activities.
