Bank myna

Bank myna
Near the Ganges at Bithur
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Acridotheres
Species: A. ginginianus
Binomial name
Acridotheres ginginianus
(Latham, 1790)

Bank myna (Acridotheres ginginianus), called "Sharak" in Punjabi, is a myna found in South Asia. It is smaller but similar in colouration to the common myna but differs in having a brick red bare skin behind the eye in place of yellow. It is greyer on the underside and in this and in the presence of a slight tuft of feathers bears some resemblance to the jungle myna. They are found in flocks on the plains of northern and central India, often within towns and cities. Their range appears to be extending southwards in India. The name is derived from their habit of nesting almost exclusively in the earthen banks of rivers where they excavate holes and breed in large colonies.

Description

Bank myna

The head is black on the crown and sides and the upper plumage is slaty grey while the underside is lighter grey with pale pink plumage towards the centre of the abdomen. The wing is black but has a wing patch at the base of the primaries and the tips of the outer tail feathers are pale pinkish buff. The naked skin behind the eye is brick red, the legs are yellow while the iris is deep red. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field.[2] Young birds have a browner head and neck.[3][4]

The species is evolutionarily closest to the common myna.[5]

Habitat and distribution

The native range of the bank myna is almost restricted to the Indian subcontinent from the Indus valley in the West, to the Gangetic delta in the East and south of the lower foothills of the Himalayas, only rarely being found in sheltered valleys. They are found mainly in the vicinity of open water and their usual habitat is cultivated farmland and open country but flocks will often live within cities, in markets and railway stations.[6] They make use of food scrap disposed by humans, even following catering vehicles at airports to standing aircraft.[7]

A group on an overhead water storage tank

The distribution was formerly noted to be restricted north roughly of a line between Bombay and Balasore in Orissa, but the species may be expanding its range. They are also common in Pakistan in the districts of Sind and Punjab.[8] A specimen from Kandahar was earlier considered the westernmost record a vagrant, but the birds have since established in the region.[9] Although mainly resident, they make movements in response to food and weather.[6][10] The species name of the bird is based on the name given by Latham from a description by Pierre Sonnerat who described Le petit Martin de Gingi in 1782,[11] referring to Gingee near Pondicherry in southern India.[12] Thomas C. Jerdon noted in 1863 that the species did not occur in southern India however the species was recorded in the region in 1914 at Vandalur near Madras.[13][14] Records from further south in India are however increasing.[15][16] Breeding colonies have been found in Assam.[17][18][19][20][21]

These mynas have been introduced into Kuwait, where they have established in the wild.[22] Flocks have also been found in the Maldives, Taiwan and Japan.[23][24][25]

Behaviour and ecology

Some of the wing feathers show green gloss

Bank mynas are gregarious foraging in flocks, breeding colonially and roosting together in trees. They perch on livestock and live in crowded towns allowing close approach, often picking up scraps in markets and dumps.[6] They are vociferous and use a wide range of calls that include clucks, croaks, screeches, whistles and warbling elements.[9]

Bank mynas feed on grain, insects and fruits. Like the common myna, they sometimes follow grazing animals picking up disturbed insects or even ticks on the animals. They feed on ripening crops such as those of sorghum, grape and pearl millet. They feed on a variety of insects, including some that are crop pests such as Achaea janata whose caterpillars feed on castor.[26]

Drinking water (Bithoor, India)

Bank mynas have a nesting season from April to July or August, most birds breeding in May and June. The nest is always built in earth walls, on the banks of rivers, embankments or the sides of open wells. They will sometimes make use of holes in brick walls. Nests have also been recorded between stacked bales of sugarcane stalks.[27] They excavate the nest hole, the egg chamber sometimes 4 to 7 feet from the entrance. The nest is lined with grass, feathers and sometimes snake sloughs.[28] About four of five pale sky blue or greenish-blue eggs is the usual clutch.[2] Two broods may be raised in the same season. The eggs hatch after about 13 to 14 days. Nestlings open their eyes after about 5 days and fledge in about 21 days. About 38% of the eggs hatched into young that fledged in one study.[29]

A species of coccidian parasite, Isospora ginginiana, and several species nematode (Oxyspirura, Choanotaenia, Hymenolepis sp.) have been described from the species.[30][31][32]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Acridotheres ginginianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Whistler, Hugh (1949). The Bank Myna. Gurney and Jackson, London. pp. 205–206. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Baker, E C S (1926). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 3 (2 ed.). Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 55–56.
  4. ↑ Oates, EW (1889). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 538–539.
  5. ↑ Zuccon, D., Pasquet, E. & Ericson, P. G. P. (2008). "Phylogenetic relationships among Palearctic–Oriental starlings and mynas (genera Sturnus and Acridotheres: Sturnidae)". Zoologica Scripta 37: 469– 481. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00339.x.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ali, Salim; Sidney Dillon Ripley (1986). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan 5 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 181–182.
  7. ↑ Ripley,S Dillon (1983). "Habits of the Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus.". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 80 (1): 219.
  8. ↑ Akhter N; Khan AA; Babar M; Riaz M; Imtiaz A; Khaliq I (2011). "Evaluation of the genetic structure of the urban dwelling species of Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis". African Journal of Biotechnology 10 (33): 6342–6347.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Rasmussen PC & JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. p. 584.
  10. ↑ Choudhury,A (1997). "New eastern limit of distribution of the Bank myna". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 37 (2): 27–28.
  11. ↑ Sonnerat, Pierre (1782). Voyage aux Indes Orientales et la Chine. Volume 2. p. 194.
  12. ↑ Sharpe, R Bowdler (1890). Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. Volume 13. British Museum. pp. 84–86.
  13. ↑ Raj,B Sundara (1914). "The occurrence of the Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) near Madras". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 23 (1): 155.
  14. ↑ Jerdon TC (1863). The birds of India. Volume 2. Part 1. Military Orphan Press, Calcutta. pp. 326–327.
  15. ↑ Khanna,L (1976). "Bank Mynas Acridotheres ginginianus near Poona". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 16 (5): 12–13.
  16. ↑ Taher, Humayun; R. Sreekar; Sivaji Anguru & Siraj A. Taher (2009). "Range extension of Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus in southern India with new records from Andhra Pradesh". Indian Birds 5 (5).
  17. ↑ Barooah, D (1993). "Nesting colony of Bank Myna in Panidihing". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 33 (3): 53.
  18. ↑ Jayakar,SD; Werner,L; Werner,Susan (1967). "The arrival of the Bank Myna in Bhubaneshwar". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 7 (3): 9.
  19. ↑ Sankar,KJNG (1975). "Occurrence of Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus (Latham) in Visakhapatnam (A.P.)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 72 (3): 857–858.
  20. ↑ Ambedkar, VC (1976). "The Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) in Bombay". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 73 (1): 217.
  21. ↑ Abdulali,Humayun; Ali,Salim (1953). "The Pied Myna and Bank Myna as birds of Bombay and Salsette". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (3): 736–737.
  22. ↑ Gregory, G. Al-Nasrallah, K. (2001). "The establishment of Bank Mynah Acridotheres ginginianus as a breeding species in Kuwait". Sandgrouse 23 (2): 134–138.
  23. ↑ Lin, Ruey-Shing (2001). "The Occurrence, Distribution and Relative Abundance of Exotic Starlings and Mynas in Taiwan". 特有生物研究 3: 13–23.
  24. ↑ Eguchi, Kazuhiro and Hitoha E. Amano (2004). "Invasive Birds in Japan". Global Environment Research 8 (1): 29–39.
  25. ↑ Anderson, R C & M Baldock (2001). "New records of birds from the Maldives, with notes on other species". Forktail 17: 67–73.
  26. ↑ Bhargava, RN (1981). "The Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus and King Crow Dicrurus adsimilis preying upon the Cricket Acheta (Orthopters: Gryllidae)". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 21 (12): 18–19.
  27. ↑ Lamba,BS (1981). "A queer nesting site of Bank Myna, Acridotheres ginginianus". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 78 (3): 605–606.
  28. ↑ Hume, AO (1889). The nests and eggs of Indian birds. Volume 1 (2 ed.). R H Porter, London. pp. 381–383.
  29. ↑ Simwat,GS; Sidhu,AS (1974). "Developmental period and feeding habits of Bank Myna, Acridotheres ginginianus (latham) in Punjab". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 71 (2): 305–308.
  30. ↑ Chakravarty, M. and Kar, A.B. (1944). "Studies on the coccidia of Indian birds. II. Observations on several species of coccidia of the sub-families Cyclosporinae and Eimeriinae". Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences B 20: 102–114.
  31. ↑ Durdana S. Jairapuri and Ather H. Siddiqi (1967). "A Review of the Genus Oxyspirura Drasche in Stossich, 1897 (Nematoda: Thelaziidae) with Descriptions of Fourteen New Species". Journal of Helminthology 41: 337–363. doi:10.1017/S0022149X00021891.
  32. ↑ Saxena, S. Km. (1971). "Studies On Cestodes of the Common Indian Mynahs Acridotheres Tristis and a. Ginginianus (Aves)". Netherlands Journal of Zoology 22 (3): 307–334. doi:10.1163/002829672x00121.

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