Starlings
The Brahminy Mynah or Brahminy Starlings, Sturnus pagodarum, is a member of the starling family of birds.
Distribution / Range:
It is a resident breeder in eastern Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. The bird is popularly known as a mynah (Salim Ali describes it as a “typical myna” in its behaviour and appearance, but recent taxonomic classification favours the Starling characterization. Locally the bird is known as Bamani myna (Bengal/Bihar), Kalasir myna (Hindi), Pabiyapawi (Hindi-UP), Harbola (Bengal), Popoya Myna, etc.
This passerine is typically found in dry forest and scrub jungle.
Nesting / Breeding
The Brahminy Starlings builds a nest in hole. The normal clutch is 3-4 eggs.
Description
The adults of these 21cm long birds have grey upperparts and reddish-orange underparts and black wing quills. The head has a black crown, nape (back of the neck) and crest, and the underneath of the tail is white. The bill and the strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles (loose folds of skin) on the gape. The recumbent crest may be fluffed up. Young birds have crestless sooty brown head and dull general coloration.
Brahminy Starlings Males and females look alike, but juveniles are duller, lack the crest, and have a brown crown.
Diet / Feeding
Like most starlings, the Brahminy Starlings is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit and insects.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org … Additional information and photos added by Avianweb.
Please Note: The articles or images on this page are the sole property of the authors or photographers. Please contact them directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Thank you.
