Hill Myna

The Hill Myna is a member of the starling family, resident in hill regions of South Asia. This myna is almost entirely arboreal, moving in large noisy groups of half a dozen or so, in tree-tops at the edge of the forest.

This is a stocky jet-black starling or myna, with bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and fleshy wattles on the side of its head and nape. At about 29 cm length. There are large white wing patches which are obvious in flight. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles on the nape and under the eye, which are distinct in their pattern from the Common Myna or the Bank Myna.

The Hill Myna is often detected by its loud shrill descending whistles followed by other calls. Both sexes make an extraordinarily wide range of loud calls - whistles, wails, screeches, and gurgles, sometimes melodious and often very human-like in quality. Each individual has a repertoire between 3 and 13 such call types. The Hill Myna is a renowned mimic, learning to reproduce many everyday sounds, particularly the human voice, and even whistled tunes, with astonishing accuracy and clarity. The Hill Myna is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar, insects. And builds a nest in hole. The normal clutch is 2-3 eggs.