For starters, the common myna was brought to Honolulu in 1866, in an effort to combat an agricultural pest, the cutworm moth, which was wrecking havoc on the sugarcane crops. The mynas were successful, as was their adaption to urban and suburban habitats; they quickly established themselves on neighboring islands. Mynas are striking looking birds, with their bold yellow legs and eye patch. Their confident, even cocky manner of walking instead of hopping can be amusing to watch. Far from shy and retiring, they are highly territorial, and make their presence known through a variety of squawks, clicks, whistles, growls and chirps. While many find them noisy and quarrelsome, they are talented mimics, and you have to admit that their range of vocalizations is pretty amazing. That is, unless you live near their communal roost. Every evening just before sundown, mynas (with the exception of incubating females) within a kilometer or so will meet up at the communal roost, which is typically in a tree with a dense canopy, such as a monkeypod or banyan. Here, they vocalize together in something called a communal noise, which, as you might imagine, can be overwhelming. Needless to say, their droppings at the roost site can pose a bit of a health hazard.
Acridotheres tristis tristis vs. Hawaii residents. Let's just say the common myna is not at the top of everyone's favorites list. This bird really gets people worked up, and there is little attempt to sugar-coat how they feel. So I felt compelled to do a little research to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly about this ever-present and vocal bird. For starters, the common myna was brought to Honolulu in 1866, in an effort to combat an agricultural pest, the cutworm moth, which was wrecking havoc on the sugarcane crops. The mynas were successful, as was their adaption to urban and suburban habitats; they quickly established themselves on neighboring islands. Mynas are striking looking birds, with their bold yellow legs and eye patch. Their confident, even cocky manner of walking instead of hopping can be amusing to watch. Far from shy and retiring, they are highly territorial, and make their presence known through a variety of squawks, clicks, whistles, growls and chirps. While many find them noisy and quarrelsome, they are talented mimics, and you have to admit that their range of vocalizations is pretty amazing. That is, unless you live near their communal roost. Every evening just before sundown, mynas (with the exception of incubating females) within a kilometer or so will meet up at the communal roost, which is typically in a tree with a dense canopy, such as a monkeypod or banyan. Here, they vocalize together in something called a communal noise, which, as you might imagine, can be overwhelming. Needless to say, their droppings at the roost site can pose a bit of a health hazard. Their nesting behavior is another issue: mynas like to nest in tree hollows, or anything resembling a tree hollow, like drainpipes and gutters, which doesn't endear them to many homeowners. Even more egregious, they compete for coveted tree hollows with other birds, and may even evict residents in unsavory ways. This behavior is documented in other countries, though I didn't locate specific information on this in Hawaii. Mynas have a varied diet; they'll scavenge roadside kill and garbage, as well as eat insects, fruits, lizards, eggs.... well, they're not very picky eaters. They have been observed eating the eggs of wedge-tailed shearwaters, ‘Ua‘u kani. That's a no-no. And the fruit industry isn't too fond of them either. Consumption of the berries of the lantana by mynas has resulted in the spreading the seeds of this invasive plant. And if things couldn't look worse for the myna's defense council, they also carry avian malaria, and a host of other mites, worms, and, well you get the picture. In 2008, they earned the notorius title of "The Most Important Pest/Problem" in Australia, and was one of only three birds to be included in the "Top 100 Worst Invasive Species" by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) (by the way, we have another bird on that list here in Hawaii, the Red-Vented Bulbul). We'll Mr. Myna, you have the right to remain silent.....
12 Comments
Peter Booth
12/17/2014 09:48:00 pm
Have you not got Action Groups to control the bird by trapping? Here, in Australia, we hate the bird and have groups of people that build traps to catch them and dispose of them. Australian traps have even made it to Fiji! I have eradicated over 300 birds in the last year and a little bit and am proud of it. If you want assistance in setting up a group, please email back. Since I have been trapping the small native birds have come back and it is a great treat to have Superb Blue Wrens nesting in your yard!
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Ian Webb
8/24/2015 02:10:16 am
In Bowral during the very bleak summer of 2015, I was buying the paper at the Newsagent Shop and I seen a MYNA come out from under the awnings across the road and land on a rail, the bitter southerly from the Antarctic hit him blowing him off his feet, he went Tute that little sound they make when upset and flew quickly out of the bitterly cold rain. Did you see the MYNA get blown off his feet I asked the lady serving me.
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joe mahalo
6/4/2016 10:21:47 pm
they just invaded my universe.... is there a way to bait and later poison them? pls! p;s! let me know
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Carol Kiwi Donovan
9/13/2017 08:38:27 pm
I am a retired world birder, now living in Volcano, want to see the Myna gone... on some Polynesian Islands the kids sling-shot them and bbq them for dinner.
Jerry Thomas
6/22/2016 05:22:05 pm
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Angela Gibson
1/5/2017 11:26:48 pm
Peter can you trap some of those birds and send them to me here in Indiana? I would love to have them ...
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12/15/2016 02:54:17 am
Can you please send the photo of the Myna looking out of the tree hollow so we could use it in our Northern Beaches Indian Myna Action Group campaign, in Sydney Australia. They steal nesting places from the many Australian birds and animals that depend on hollows for shelter and nesting.
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JAMES
4/21/2017 06:20:47 pm
Peegee Myna traps are very effective. See link -
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April freeland
7/7/2017 11:49:54 am
Here on Maui I rescue all birds and the Mynahs are my favorite. I have kept the broken ones as pets and their vocabulary is astonishing. They are quite friendly and here on Maui we endear them but I do not live near a roosting tree so that is a different matter.
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Doug on Maui
2/12/2018 12:46:00 pm
We have a wild Myna bird nesting nearby our home that somehow has learned to place pebbles on our front lawn. Every morning we find four to six pebbles on our lawn spaced almost evenly from one to two feet often in a similar pattern. Each day, we remove the pebbles to prevent damage to the mower but new pebbles are discovered the next day. Amazing and unexplainable behavior.
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Matt drayer
11/28/2021 12:00:32 am
The myna birds on my farm on big island are controlling a new invasive moth called the rammie moth. I am a mamaki farmer and the rammie moth targets the native mamaki plant. So, I went from disliking myna birds to accepting their presence as a new type of balance. I think we must all remember to seek balance rather than to spend our energy attempting to eradicate something to suit our needs. Nature generally finds a way to balance itself.
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Simone
6/18/2023 05:18:45 pm
There’s a myna bird that has been harassing me whenever I walk my dog and I’m not sure why or what to do about it. Every time we cross the street it swoops so close to my head that it almost hits me. I know they’re smart, but I’m not sure what I’ve done to upset or what to do in order to make peace. We are in Honolulu and though I’ve seen the bird swoop down on other people, im not sure if it’s a game or what.
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