Alternative names: Chinese Crested Myna; Chinese Jungle Myna; Tufted Myna; Chinese Starling
- Acridotheres cristatellus
Identification
25cm. A medium-sized, black myna.
- Plumage mostly black
- Basal half of primaries white showing large white patch in flight
- Frontal crest
- Tail black with white tips
- Black undertail-coverts with white tips when plumage fresh
- Olive-yellow to yellow bill, reddish at base of lower mandible
- Yellow to orange eye
- Yellow to yellow-orange legs
Sexes similar. Juveniles are browner, have a smaller frontal crest and a bluish eye.
Similar species
Great Myna has white undertail-coverts and reddish-brown eyes, Javan Myna has white undertail-coverts, a smaller crest and a bright yellow bill. Jungle Myna is more greyish and has a bluish bill base.
Distribution
South and southeast China, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam. Also recorded in eastern Burma.
Introduced in peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, northern Philippines, northwest Borneo, Japan, Canada (around Vancouver), Argentina (Buenos Aires Province) and Portugal (Lisbon and Setubal).
Common to abundant in its range.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies:
- A. c. cristatellus:
- A. c. brevipennis:
- A. c. formosanus:
Habitat
Urban parks, gardens and harbours. Paddyfields and lowland forest edges.
Race formosanus is now a shy bird of the mountain forests. Its former range did include the lowlands but it has been displaced by the introduced Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus)
Behaviour
Breeding
Breeding season April to August. It is a colony nester which nests in cavities which the bird fills with sticks and vegetation. The 4-7 glossy green blue eggs are incubated by both sexes for 14 days; the young fledge 21 days later.
Diet
The diet includes insects, fruit, grains, eggs and young birds.
Vocalisation
Call varied and can imitate other species and sounds.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- BF Member observations
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Crested Myna. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Crested_Myna
