Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

The Javan Myna is a dark gray, bold city bird from Java and Bali that has spread far beyond its home through the cage-bird trade. Introduced flocks now thrive in places like Singapore and Taiwan, while trapping has made it scarce in its native range. In the US it has been introduced only in Puerto Rico and is not found on the mainland.

Appearance

Appearance: About 8–9 in (21–23 cm) long and about 3.5 oz (100 g). Mostly dark gray to black with a short tuft on the forehead, a yellow bill and legs, and lemon-yellow eyes. The feathers under the tail are white, and white wing and tail bars flash in flight. Young birds are browner.
Voice: Known for mimicking other birds and even human speech.

Look-alikes

Common MynaAcridotheres tristis

The Common Myna has a brown body and a bare yellow patch of skin around the eye. The Javan Myna is dark gray and has no yellow eye patch.

Why they get mixed upBoth are mynas with yellow bills and white wing patches in flight, and both have been introduced outside Asia.

Crested MynaAcridotheres cristatellus

The Crested Myna has orange eyes and black undertail feathers with white tips. The Javan Myna has lemon-yellow eyes and a white undertail.

Why they get mixed upBoth are black mynas with a forehead tuft.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Cities
Parks
Farmland
Range: Native to Java and Bali, Indonesia. Introduced to Singapore, southern Malaysia, southeastern Thailand, Sumatra, the Lesser Sundas, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, and Puerto Rico. In the US it has been introduced only in Puerto Rico; it is not a bird of the US mainland.
Preferred conditions: Lives around towns and cultivated land and is very tolerant of people.

Behavior

Diet: Omnivorous: seeds, fruit, nectar, insects, and human food scraps.
Social life: Moves in pairs or groups. While a group feeds, one bird keeps watch and gives a sharp alarm call that sends the others flying. Pairs often squabble over territory.

Life cycle

Nest: Nests in holes and crevices.
Clutch size: 2–5 blue eggs
Incubation: 13–14 days
Fledging: About 25 days

Name and classification

About the name: It is sometimes called the White-vented Myna, but ornithologists recommend avoiding that name because it is easily confused with other mynas. Some ornithologists once treated it as part of the Great Myna (A. grandis) or the Jungle Myna (A. fuscus).

Conservation

IUCN Red List: VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
Status: Widespread illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade is driving a rapid decline in Java and Bali. Introduced populations, such as the one in Singapore, have grown large.