Indian Pied Myna

The Indian pied myna is a starling of the Indian subcontinent, strikingly marked in black and white, with a yellowish bill with a reddish base and reddish bare skin around the eye. The upper body, throat and breast are black, while the cheek, lores, wing coverts and rump are contrastingly white; the sexes are similar, but young birds have dark brown in place of black. Its main distribution in India is from the Gangetic plains south to the Krishna River, and its westward spread, particularly in parts of Rajasthan, has been aided by changes in irrigation and farming patterns (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is usually found in small groups on the plains and low foothills, up to about 700 m, and is often seen in cities and villages, though not as bold as the common myna. Birds in a group call frequently with a wide repertoire of whistles, trills, buzzes, clicks and warbling calls, and young birds taken into captivity have been trained to imitate the tunes of other birds. The breeding season in India runs from March to September. SoIB 2023 rates it a Low conservation priority, an omnivore of non-specialised habitat with a Very Large range of about 1.49 million km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).