Jungle myna

Jungle myna
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Acridotheres
Species: A. fuscus
Binomial name
Acridotheres fuscus
(Wagler, 1827)

The jungle myna (Acridotheres fuscus) is a myna, a member of the starling family.

Range

This bird is a common resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Burma east to Indonesia.

Habitat

This common passerine is typically found in forest and cultivation. The jungle myna builds a nest in hole. The normal clutch is three to six eggs.

Description

These 23-centimetre (9.1 in) long birds have grey plumage, darker on the head and wings. There are large white wing patches obvious in flight, and a white tail tip. The head has a forehead tuft. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow, and there is no bare skin around eye. The southern Indian race has a blue iris. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are browner.

They are usually found close to water or rice fields.

Like most starlings, the jungle myna is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, grain and insects.

In many parts of Asia, they are kept as pets. As a result, escaped birds have formed feral populations in many countries such as Taiwan.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Acridotheres fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to the jungle myna.
Wikispecies has information related to: Acridotheres fuscus
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.