Common Myna

The Common Myna is a member of the starling family. It is also known as the Indian Myna or Talking Myna for its ability to mimic human speech.

The Common Myna is readily identified by the brown body, black hooded head and the bare yellow patch behind the eye. The bill and legs are bright yellow. There is a white patch on the outer primaries and the wing lining on the underside is white. The sexes are similar and birds are usually seen in pairs.

Local names for the bird in India include Desi myna in Hindi, Lalri gutar shark in Punjabi, Salik in Bengali, Xalika sorai in Assamese, Kathayi Kabari in Gujarati, Shale or Salonki in Marathi, Narthan Kuruvi in Tamil, Goranka in Telugu, Kavalamkili in Malayalam, Goravanka in Kannada and Gon kawadiya in Sinhalese

The calls includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks and whistles, and the bird often fluffs its feathers and bobs its head in singing. The Common Myna screeches warnings to its mate or other birds in cases of predators in proximity.

They breed through much of the year depending on the location, building their nest in a hole in a tree or wall. The normal clutch is 4–6 eggs.It feeds on insects and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation.