Jungle Myna

The jungle myna (Acridotheres fuscus) is a myna, a member of the starling family. It is found patchily distributed across much of the mainland of the Indian Subcontinent but absent in the arid zones of India. It is easily recognized by the tuft of feathers on its forehead that form a frontal crest, a feature also found in the closely related Javan myna and the pale-bellied myna which were treated as a subspecies in the past. The eyes are pale, yellow or blue depending on the population and the base of the orange-yellow bill is dark. It has also been introduced either intentionally or accidentally into many other parts of the world including Fiji, Taiwan, the Andaman Islands, and parts of Japan. The species has also spread out on its own to some islands in the Pacific.

Scientific Name : Acridotheres Fuscus

Family : Sturnidae

Order : Passeriformes

Class : Aves

Type : Starlings

Conservation Status : Least concern (LC)

Size : 23 cm

Compare Size : Mayna

Wingspan : NA

Weight : 72 - 98 g

Migratory : Resident

Sex Alike : Yes

Nesting Season : 4 - 6 eggs

Other Names :

Hindi : जंगली मैना

Marathi : जंगल मैना, झोंटी मैना

Habitat:
Forest and cultivation and often close to open water. They may disperse outside their range particularly after the breeding season

Breeding:
breeding season is in summer and before the rains, February to May in southern India and April to July in northern India.

Feeding:
omnivorous feed mainly on insects, fruit, and seeds


Identification Features

Male & Female
Head darker grey
Wing darker grey
Primaries white patches on the base of the primaries, the patch is conspicuous in flight
Tail tail feathers have wide white tips
Forehead forehead has tuft of feathers
Bill yellow but base of the beak is dark in adults with a shade of blue at the base of the lower mandible
Legs yellow
Iris pale-yellow but southern Indian population has a blue iris
Note :
mainly grey plumage
Juvenile
Note :
Juveniles are browner with a pale throat and along the median of the underside

Gallery

SIGHTINGS

Date Location
2018-12-08 08 Dec 2018 Harihareshwar Beach, Raigad, Maharashtra
2018-12-09 09 Dec 2018 Harihareshwar Beach, Raigad, Maharashtra
2018-11-04 04 Nov 2018 Shiravali Gaon, Raigad, Maharashtra
2018-11-05 05 Nov 2018 Shiravali Gaon, Raigad, Maharashtra

Similar Birds

(Starlings)