The home-wreckers!

Common mynahs are tame, bold, and noisy birds; usually seen in pairs or small flocks. They build bulky nests in tree cavities, pockets in buildings, in heavy vegetation and in thatch roofing! A pair moved into my garden a couple of years ago and took to nesting in the little thatch roof over my front entrance gate. Despite numerous attempts at evicting them and repairing the roof, they have been very persistent and this is the current state of my little thatch entrance!

The male keeping a beady eye on me after the female entered the nest with a tit-bit for the babies.

A fledgling sitting in my peach tree

Females lay four to five glossy, pale blue eggs. The incubation period is thirteen to eighteen days. Both parents incubate the eggs. The nestlings may leave the nest at around twenty-two days or longer, but may still not be able to fly for another seven days or so. And this happens several times a year! Mynahs are very territorial and every time nestlings have fledged, I've watched the parents lead them away from our property as soon as they could fly, returning empty-handed and the cycle starts all over again. 

The Myna has been introduced in many other parts of the world and its distribution range is on the increase to an extent that, in 2000, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN) declared it among the World's 100 worst invasive species. The Myna is one of only three birds in this list of invasive species. It is a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia and South Africa.

However, the intelligence and loving spirit of these amazing birds is beyond description. When I rescued a fledgling a couple of years ago, I called her Mai and she grew up in my studio and had free range of the house and garden, and one of her favourite past-times was her early-morning bath in the bird bath in the garden, after which she would fly into my studio, roosting on top of the computer screen, preening herself until she was all sparkling and shiny.

 Mai on the back of my office chair, watching as I re-pack the chaos she has caused

They are also extremely playful and inquisitive. She would investigate every item in my studio, picking up the gemclip holder, fishing out a few and then hiding them in all sorts of nooks and crannies, often returning to find and play with her treasures. 

Mai sitting on my knee, intently watching as I eat my sandwich, desperately hoping for a tit-bit!

She was extremely fond of people and one day, after approaching somebody in our driveway, she disappeared mysteriously and I'm convinced that she landed on their shoulder and that the person climbed into their car and drove off with her. I was totally devastated, and I just prayed that they did not cage her, as she was a wonderful free spirit.

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Mynah fledglings (sensitive image)

We're in the middle of summer and my mood has changed from one of inspiration to lethargy - we've had temperatures exceeding 30°C (about 86°F) with no rain and I haven't even had the energy to go out into the garden and do some work. Once or twice I did manage to brave the heat and take my camera with me and capture a few pics.

As I wandered around the garden, my two resident Mynahs were following me around, screeching at the top of their voices. I first thought they might be warning me about a snake, but to my delight I discovered that the Mynah's babies have fledged - the parents have been in in and out of their nest over the past couple of days (which is under the canopy of the thatch roof over our entrance and not my ideal place to have them, they've destroyed large patches of the thatch in trying to find the perfect nesting spot) with tit-bits for the youngsters and I've been waiting for the youngsters to come out.

The Mynahs' nest in the thatch roof

Entrance to the Mynahs' nest under the thatch roof over my entrance gate

I found two little Mynah's in the peach tree and, with the parents sitting threateningly right over-head and screeching, I managed to get a couple of shots.

 Fledgling one - he looks like the older of the two

Fledgling two - he's the smaller of the two

They weren't particularly interested in me and just focused on the parents, chirping softly for some food. In their youthful inexperience they are still totally trusting, both even allowed me to pick them up and after a bit of a cuddle, I returned them to their respective spots where they continued to chirp at the parents, which weren't at all pleased with my apparent lack of concern over their screeching.

(The following image might upset sensitive viewers.)

After a while I decided to inspect the nest to try and work out a plan of fixing the thatch and thwarting any more efforts on their part to re-nest there again. To my utter horror I discovered a third baby, impaled on the palisade fencing which surrounds part of my garden. At first I thought that the Fiscal Shrike must have caught it and used the spike as a larder, but I couldn't see any other injuries on the baby - the Fiscal Shrike would have removed the head and would've started feeding already. After some investigation and further thought, I came to the conclusion that it had slipped down the thatch (which is very slippery, I've watched the parents slipping and sliding as they've tried to enter the nest) and impaled itself on the spike. It really is a freaky accident, and one which I wish I could have prevented...

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Mai, the Mynah

This is Mai after her bath, a young Mynah I was very privileged to have in my life for almost 6 months. Here she enjoys a bit of sun before following me back to my studio.

I found her on the pavement in town, where she had probably fallen out of the nest, and she was just a little bundle of quills, no feathers yet, and after looking around if I could see the nest and not finding it, I took her home with me.

The intelligence and loving spirit of these amazing birds is beyond description - she was not caged and had free range of the house and garden, and one of her favourite past-times was her early-morning bath in the bird bath in the garden, after which she would fly into my studio, roosting on top of the computer screen, preening herself until she was all sparkling and shiny.

(The Common Myna or Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis) also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of the starling family. It is a species of bird native to Asia with its initial home range spanning from Iran, Pakistan, India and Kazakhstan to Malaysia and China. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments.

The Myna has been introduced in many other parts of the world and its distribution range is on the increase to an extent that, in 2000, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN) declared it among the World's 100 worst invasive species. The Myna is one of only three birds in this list of invasive species. It is a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia and South Africa.)

Camera : FujiFinepix 2800Zoom Digital - normal settings

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Mai taking off to dry off after sharing my bath with me.


Mai, roosting on my PC speaker, enjoying some music


The beauty of an adult Mynah
Pic from Wikipedia


Adult Mynah