Hi John,
The name Indian Myna is a misnomer - it should properly be called Common Myna.
It is found naturally from Central Asia and Afghanistan, throughout South-East
Asia through to Peninsular Malaysia (into which I believe it has expanded its
range relatively recently) as well as in India. In the Asian region it has been
introduced into Brunei, Sumatra and southern China. I have observed them in a
number of South-East Asian countries where they always occur in open or
disturbed habitat, cultivated and urban areas. Their favourite habitat appears
to be airports! I haven't seen them in India but my guess is they would favour
much the same habitat throughout their range. This would seem to leave plenty
of scope for further expansion into as yet uncolonised parts of Australia. I
don't think we've seen the last of them!
Apparently they will nest not only in hollows but also in disused bird and
squirrel nests ('Birds of South-East Asia' Robson). I have seen them nesting in
palms in their dozens and, as we all know, they love the eaves of buildings. If
they are relatively recent arrivals in Malaysia this may explain why they
appear to be restricted to urban areas (so far).
regards,
Susan
Susan Myers
Ph. +61 3 9899 9303
Fax +61 3 9890 8911
email
http://www.websurf.net.au/~susan
-----Original Message-----
From: John Leonard [SMTP:
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 8:42 AM
To:
Subject: habitat of Indian Mynah
>From an all too brief visit to West Malaysia a couple of years ago I
observed that Indian Mynahs there were exclusively urban birds. They seemed
to be found only in the big towns and not even in the little villages
(kampong). Mynahs in what remains of natural habitat are Jungle Mynahs.
Which leads one to ask, what is the natural habitat of Indian Mynahs where
they came from (India?).
I would hazrd a guess at dry, lightly wooded country with rocks or cliffs
(to nest in), rather than dense jungle, or any other habitat. Which is a
worry because it suggests that a good deal of rural eastern Australia might
be suitable habitat for them, when they learn to live away from towns, as
European Starlings have... :-(
John Leonard
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
John Leonard (Dr),
PO Box 243,
Woden, ACT 2606,
Australia
http://www.spirit.net.au/~jleonard
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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