Hill Myna
Encyclopedia
The Common Hill Myna sometimes spelled "mynah" and formerly simply known as "Hill Myna
", is the myna bird most commonly seen in aviculture
, where it is often simply referred to by the latter two names. It is a member of the starling
family
(Sturnidae), resident in hill regions of South Asia
and Southeast Asia
. The Sri Lanka Hill Myna, a former subspecies
of G. religiosa, is generally accepted as a separate species
G. ptilogenys nowadays. The Enggano Hill Myna (G. enganensis) and Nias Hill Myna (G. robusta) are also widely accepted as specifically distinct, and many authors favor treating the Southern Hill Myna (G. r. indica) from the Nilgiris
and elsewhere in the Western Ghats
of India as a separate species also.
, with bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and fleshy wattles on the side of its head and nape. At about 29 cm length, it is somewhat larger than the Common Myna
(Acridotheres tristis).
It is overall green-glossed black plumage
, purple-tinged on the head and neck. There are large white wing patches which are obvious in flight but mostly covered when the bird is sitting. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles
on the nape and under the eye. These differ conspicuously in shape from the naked eye-patch of the Common Myna and Bank Myna
(A. ginginianus), and more subtly vary between the different hill mynas from South Asia
: in the Common Hill Myna they extend from the eye to the nape, where they join, while the Sri Lanka Hill Myna has a single wattle across the nape and extending a bit towards the eyes. In the Southern Hill Myna, the wattles are separate and curve towards the top of the head. The Nias and Enggano Hill Mynas differ in details of the facial wattles, and size, particularly that of the bill.
Sexes are similar; juveniles have a duller bill.
With the Southern, Nias and Enggano Hill Mynas as separate species, the Common Hill Myna has seven or eight subspecies
which differ only slightly. They are:
Both sexes can produce 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, which may be shared with some near neighbours of the same sex, being learned when young. There is a very rapid change of dialect with distance, such that birds living more than 15 km apart have no call-types in common with one another.
Unlike some other birds, such as the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
(Dicrurus paradiseus), the Common Hill Mynas do not imitate other birds in the wild, although it is a widely held misconception that they do. On the other hand, in captivity, they are among the most renowned mimics, perhaps on par only with the African Grey Parrot
(Psittacus erithacus). They can learn to reproduce many everyday sounds, particularly the human voice, and even whistled tunes, with astonishing accuracy and clarity.
_foreplay_at_jayanti,_duars,_west_bengal_w_picture_369.jpg)
This myna
is a resident breeder from Kumaon division
in India
(80° eastern longitude
) east through Nepal
, Sikkim
, Bhutan
and Arunachal Pradesh
, the lower Himalayas
, terai
and foothills up to 2000 m ASL
. Its range continues east through Southeast Asia
northeastwards to southern China
, and via Thailand
southeastwards across northern Indonesia
to Palawan
in the Philippines
. It is virtually extinct in Bangladesh
due to habitat destruction
and overexploitation
for the pet trade. A feral
population on Christmas Island
has likewise disappeared. Introduced populations exist in Puerto Rico
, Hawaii
and perhaps in the mainland USA and possibly elsewhere; feral
birds require at least a warm subtropical climate to persist.
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. It hops sideways along the branch, unlike the characteristic jaunty walk of other mynas. Like most starlings, the Hill Myna is fairly omnivorous
, eating fruit
, nectar and insect
s.
They build a nest in hole. The usual clutch
is 2-3 egg
s.
_at_jayanti,_duars,_west_bengal_w.jpg)
The hill mynas are popular cage birds, renowned for their ability to imitate speech. The widely-distributed Common Hill Myna is the one most frequently seen in aviculture
. Demand outstrips captive breeding
capacity, so they are rarely found in pet
stores and usually purchased directly from breeders or importers who can certify that the birds are traded legally.
This species is widely distributed and locally common, and if adult stocks are safeguarded it is able to multiply quickly. On a worldwide scale, the IUCN thus considers the Common Hill Myna a Species of Least Concern
. But in the 1990s, nearly 20,000 wild-caught birds, mostly adults and immature grown-ups, were brought into trade each year. In the central part of its range, G. r. intermedia populations have declined markedly, especially in Thailand
which supplied much of the thriving Western market. Its neighbor countries, from where exports were often limited due to political or military reasons, nevertheless supplied a burgeoning domestic demand, and demand in the entire region continues to be very high. In 1992, Thailand had the Common Hill Myna put on CITES Appendix III, to safeguard its stocks against collapsing. In 1997, at request of the Netherlands
and the Philippines, the species was uplisted to CITES Appendix II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands subspecies
andamanensis and (if valid) halibrecta, described as "exceedingly common" in 1874, qualified as Near Threatened
in 1991. The former is not at all common anymore in the Nicobar Islands
and the latter – if distinct – has a very limited range.
Elsewhere, such as on the Philippines and in Laos
, the decline has been more localized. It is also becoming increasingly rare in regions of Northeastern India
due to capture of fledged birds for the illegal pet trade. In the Garo Hills
region, however, the locals make artificial nests of a split-bamboo
framework covered with grass, and put them up in accessible positions in tall trees in a forest clearing or at the edge of a small village to entice the mynas to breed there. The villagers are thus able to extract the young at the proper time for easy hand-rearing, making Common Hill Myna farming a profitable small-scale cottage industry. It helps to preserve the environment
, because the breeding birds are not removed from the population, while habitat destruction
is curtailed because the mynas will desert areas of extensive logging
and prefer more natural forest to plantation
s. As the mynas can be something of a pest of fruit trees when too numerous, an additional benefit to the locals is the inexpensive means of controlling the myna population: failing stocks can be bolstered by putting out more nests than can be harvested, while the maximum proportion of nestlings are taken when the population becomes too large.
Hill Myna
The Common Hill Myna , sometimes spelled "mynah" and formerly simply known as "Hill Myna", is the myna bird most commonly seen in aviculture, where it is often simply referred to by the latter two names. It is a member of the starling family , resident in hill regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia...
", is the myna bird most commonly seen in aviculture
Aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns....
, where it is often simply referred to by the latter two names. It is a member of the starling
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Sturnidae), resident in hill regions of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. The Sri Lanka Hill Myna, a former subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of G. religiosa, is generally accepted as a separate species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
G. ptilogenys nowadays. The Enggano Hill Myna (G. enganensis) and Nias Hill Myna (G. robusta) are also widely accepted as specifically distinct, and many authors favor treating the Southern Hill Myna (G. r. indica) from the Nilgiris
Nilgiris (mountains)
The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...
and elsewhere in the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
of India as a separate species also.
Description
This is a stocky jet-black mynaMyna
The myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...
, with bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and fleshy wattles on the side of its head and nape. At about 29 cm length, it is somewhat larger than the Common Myna
Common Myna
The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...
(Acridotheres tristis).
It is overall green-glossed black plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, purple-tinged on the head and neck. There are large white wing patches which are obvious in flight but mostly covered when the bird is sitting. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles
Wattle (anatomy)
A wattle is a fleshy dewlap or caruncle hanging from various parts of the head or neck in several groups of birds, goats and other animals. In some birds the caruncle is erectile tissue.The wattle is frequently an organ of sexual dimorphism...
on the nape and under the eye. These differ conspicuously in shape from the naked eye-patch of the Common Myna and Bank Myna
Bank Myna
Bank Myna 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...
(A. ginginianus), and more subtly vary between the different hill mynas from South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
: in the Common Hill Myna they extend from the eye to the nape, where they join, while the Sri Lanka Hill Myna has a single wattle across the nape and extending a bit towards the eyes. In the Southern Hill Myna, the wattles are separate and curve towards the top of the head. The Nias and Enggano Hill Mynas differ in details of the facial wattles, and size, particularly that of the bill.
Sexes are similar; juveniles have a duller bill.
With the Southern, Nias and Enggano Hill Mynas as separate species, the Common Hill Myna has seven or eight subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
which differ only slightly. They are:
- Gracula religiosa andamanensis Beavan 1867 – Andaman Hill Myna. Andaman IslandsAndaman IslandsThe Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, Central (NancowryNancowryNancowry refers both to a single island and to the group of adjoining islands that make up the central part of the Nicobar Islands chain, located in the northeast Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea....
) group of the Nicobar IslandsNicobar IslandsThe Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean... - Gracula religiosa batuensis – BatuBatu IslandsThe Batu Islands are an archipelago of Indonesia located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra, between Nias and Siberut. The three primary islands, of approximately equal size, are Pini, Tanahmasa, and Tanahbala. There are forty-eight smaller islands, of which less than half are...
and Mentawai IslandsMentawai IslandsThe Mentawai Islands are a chain of about seventy islands and islets off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai and South Pagai . The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, across the...
. - Gracula religiosa halibrecta Oberholser 1926 – Great Nicobar Hill Myna. Great NicobarGreat NicobarGreat Nicobar is the largest of the Nicobar Islands of India, north of Sumatra. Indira Point, its southernmost tip, is also the southernmost point of India. The island of Sumatra is located to the south of Great Nicobar...
Little NicobarLittle NicobarLittle Nicobar is one of the Nicobar Islands, India. Its area is 157 km². There are a few smaller islands of Little Nicobar's shores: Menchal, Pulomilo, Treis/Albatei, Trak/Mafuya and Meroe. The island of Katchal is located about 70 km to the north.The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami...
and adjacent islets in the Nicobar Islands. Doubtfully distinct from andamanensis. - Gracula religiosa intermedia – North-western IndochinaIndochinaThe Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
and adjacent north-eastern IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and southern ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. - Gracula religiosa palawanensis – PalawanPalawanPalawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. - Gracula religiosa peninsularis – Bastar Hill Mynah. Central India.
- Gracula religiosa religiosa – Greater Sundas (except SulawesiSulawesiSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
) and Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
. - Gracula religiosa venerata – Western Lesser Sundas.
Vocalisations
The Common Hill Myna is often detected by its loud shrill descending whistles followed by other calls. It is most vocal at dawn and dusk when it is found in small groups in forest clearings high in the canopy.Both sexes can produce 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, which may be shared with some near neighbours of the same sex, being learned when young. There is a very rapid change of dialect with distance, such that birds living more than 15 km apart have no call-types in common with one another.
Unlike some other birds, such as the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus, is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae...
(Dicrurus paradiseus), the Common Hill Mynas do not imitate other birds in the wild, although it is a widely held misconception that they do. On the other hand, in captivity, they are among the most renowned mimics, perhaps on par only with the African Grey Parrot
African Grey Parrot
The African Grey Parrot , also known as the Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds. They feed primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits, leafy matter, but have been observed...
(Psittacus erithacus). They can learn to reproduce many everyday sounds, particularly the human voice, and even whistled tunes, with astonishing accuracy and clarity.
Distribution and ecology
Myna
The myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...
is a resident breeder from Kumaon division
Kumaon Division
For Kumaoni/Kumauni People see Kumauni PeopleKumaon or Kumaun is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. It includes the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(80° eastern longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
) east through Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
, the lower Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
and foothills up to 2000 m ASL
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. Its range continues east through Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
northeastwards to southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and via Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
southeastwards across northern Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
to Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is virtually extinct in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
due to habitat destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
and overexploitation
Overexploitation
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Sustained overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource...
for the pet trade. A feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
population on Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
has likewise disappeared. Introduced populations exist in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and perhaps in the mainland USA and possibly elsewhere; feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
birds require at least a warm subtropical climate to persist.
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. It hops sideways along the branch, unlike the characteristic jaunty walk of other mynas. Like most starlings, the Hill Myna is fairly omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, eating fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, nectar and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s.
They build a nest in hole. The usual clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
is 2-3 egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s.
Pet trade and conservation
Aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns....
. Demand outstrips captive breeding
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
capacity, so they are rarely found in pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
stores and usually purchased directly from breeders or importers who can certify that the birds are traded legally.
This species is widely distributed and locally common, and if adult stocks are safeguarded it is able to multiply quickly. On a worldwide scale, the IUCN thus considers the Common Hill Myna a Species of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
. But in the 1990s, nearly 20,000 wild-caught birds, mostly adults and immature grown-ups, were brought into trade each year. In the central part of its range, G. r. intermedia populations have declined markedly, especially in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
which supplied much of the thriving Western market. Its neighbor countries, from where exports were often limited due to political or military reasons, nevertheless supplied a burgeoning domestic demand, and demand in the entire region continues to be very high. In 1992, Thailand had the Common Hill Myna put on CITES Appendix III, to safeguard its stocks against collapsing. In 1997, at request of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the Philippines, the species was uplisted to CITES Appendix II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
andamanensis and (if valid) halibrecta, described as "exceedingly common" in 1874, qualified as Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
in 1991. The former is not at all common anymore in the Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...
and the latter – if distinct – has a very limited range.
Elsewhere, such as on the Philippines and in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, the decline has been more localized. It is also becoming increasingly rare in regions of Northeastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
due to capture of fledged birds for the illegal pet trade. In the Garo Hills
Garo Hills
The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal dwellers. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is located in this range. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.Garo Hills...
region, however, the locals make artificial nests of a split-bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
framework covered with grass, and put them up in accessible positions in tall trees in a forest clearing or at the edge of a small village to entice the mynas to breed there. The villagers are thus able to extract the young at the proper time for easy hand-rearing, making Common Hill Myna farming a profitable small-scale cottage industry. It helps to preserve the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, because the breeding birds are not removed from the population, while habitat destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
is curtailed because the mynas will desert areas of extensive logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and prefer more natural forest to plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s. As the mynas can be something of a pest of fruit trees when too numerous, an additional benefit to the locals is the inexpensive means of controlling the myna population: failing stocks can be bolstered by putting out more nests than can be harvested, while the maximum proportion of nestlings are taken when the population becomes too large.