- Acridotheres cristatellus
Identification
Medium large, with frontal crest, sexes similar.
Largely black; basal half of primaries white showing large white patch in flight; tail and undertail coverts tipped white. Bill olive yellow to yellow; reddish at base of lower mandible; eye brown to dull yellow; legs yellow to yellow orange.
Distribution
China, Taiwan, and SE Asia; introduced into Borneo and the Philippines.
Also introduced in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 3 subspecies:
- A. c. cristatellus:
- A. c. brevipennis:
- Hainan (southern China)
- 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 White-vented Myna (Acridotheres cinereus)
Behaviour
Breeding
It is a colony nester which nests in cavities which the bird fills with sticks and vegetation. 4-7 glossy green blue eggs are laid and 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. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- BF Member observations
- Whatbird
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Crested Myna. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Crested_Myna