NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 63, 11 September 1937, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

THE INDIAN MYNAH

AN ACCLIMATISATION SPECIES

(By R. H. D. Stidolph.)

At one time the common Indian mynah was found around .Wellington and in the Hutt "Valley but it must be many years since this bright bird has been seen in this neighbourhood. It is a fair-sized bird,. generally to be seen in pairs on the ground. It is quite distinctive and cannot be confused with any other species. In colour, the plumage is more or less rich vinousbrown, with the head black and conspicuous yellow face wattles, while in. flight the large white marks on the wings are most noticable. Although this bird was introduced into both islands almost seventy years ago, it has since disappeared from many districts

in both islands, particularly the south, and has taken up. its residence elsewhere. About 1871 it, was reported as breeding in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Nelson, but it has not been seen in vast areas of that island for about forty years, and, in fact, survives only in one Nelson locality. Similarly, it has almost disappeared from the southern portion of the North Island, though a few pairs linger in the Wairapara. , These, however, form an isolated party, as this bird is not present between Mastertbn and Pahiatua. It is, however, numerous in parts of Hawke's Bay, Taranaki,:ahdthe south- , em portion of the Auckland district A GOOD SNAKE FINDER. ' The birds introduced into. New Zealand were not obtained ' direct front India but from Australia where this species had become established in. several localities. It has .been liberated in .several other countries—South Africa, Mauritius, and some of the Pacific Islands. In its native country the mynah is distributed over almost the .whole of the . Indian ■ Empire and occurs in the Himalayas up to a height of 8000 feet. According to Mr. Hugh Whistaler in his admirable volume on, Indian' birds, "the mynah shares with the house crow the distinction of being the commonest and best-known bird in India, being found wherever man is found, in populous, city :or in ' lonely jungle' villages. But the house crow, with all his audacity, has'an uneasy conscience and is ever in expectation of the moment when his sins will find him out. The mynah,, on the other hand, has no such feelings. Heis always perky and self-confident, secure in his occupation of some" particular beat and ready to wage war on all who dispute it with him; and the appearance of a'snake, mongoose, or bird of prey is sufficient to collect all the mynahs of the neighbourhood,l whoso hoarse scolding reveals the presence of- the • intruder and is always worth investigation; many a dangerous snake has lost its life through the information "given to man by the mynahs." , .•■•'.■ •'■. •'''- : | CHANGE IN CLIMATE. ' The mynah must find the conditions in New Zealand vastly different to those in its native country. It has no snakes to raise. a hue and cry about, and it appears to live very much to itself, not associating or quarrelling with other species. The climate;, too, is much colder, and this probably accounts for the bird leaving the South Island and seeking warmer districts, as it is quite clear that it has deserted the more bleak portions of the coitatry and is gradually extending its range northwards. At the present time the mynah does hot appear to exist north of Auckland and it will be interesting to see if, in the course of years, it will not become quite common in that district.. The mynah must also find the task of incubating its eggs a much more troublesome business, in New Zealand than it is in India, where the bird nests usually in a very hot position and leaves much of the incubation tp the temperature of the air. The nest in New Zealand iauiearly always placed in a building,or a hole in a tree, though on rare occasions it may be seen on the bough of a tree. The nest itself is a large untidy, structure built of all sorts of odds and ends, and from three to six eggs form a clutch, though four or five are . more normal. In colour they are ■ pale blue or greenish blue, without any markings. ■ ' . ' .".■■■■.: : . . ■ ■ A VARIED DIET. Hardly'anything in the. way of food comes amiss to the mynah, although insect life' provides a considerable, proportion of its diet. It sometimes ■: may be seen following the plough and feeding on grubs... Crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and insects of aIL kinds are eaten, besides earthworms, grain, fruit, and scraps. It has' been accused in New Zealand-of attacking such' fruit as peaches, apples, pears, and strawberries and also of spreading the blackberry." In InSia flocks of grazing cattle and various agricultural operations are invariably attended by a T>air of ithese birds, the services, of which in .the destruction- of locusts and grasshoppers - are most valuable. In New Zealand .the mynah probably does little harm. For one thing, except in two or three districts,/it is practically unknown;, and even; in those areas in which it is found, although not uncommon,, it. is-.in. no cas« so .numerous as to be troublesome. It has been stated that the disappearance of the mynah from certain districts is on' account of the competition of the starling, but this hardly fits the.facts, as the starling is quite common in. districts in which the mynah has comparatively recently established itself. The starling, by the way, is sometimes wrongly called the mynah, but there is no excuse for this, as it. is totally different in appearance. ; WAYS OF THE SONG THRUSH. A correspondent writes as follow* about the habits of the familiar song thrush, a common garden bird:—' I was much amused yesterday at the antics of a pair of thrushes in a small matipo outside the kitchen window. Evidently in search of a suitable site for a nest, the hen hopped from branch to branch with her mate close at her-heels. Having discovered what she thought was an ideal spot she proceeded to pick a twig off here and there, ..while her mate sang little songs of admiration for her benefit. This is the first, time I have ever seen a thrush singing^ while on the move. They played about their selected spot for some minutes and then the hen dropped the twigs she had been toying with and new + off, followed by her mate, as though they had suddenly thought of some, better tree for their nest-buildirig. ■ Severa* times during the day they, came back to the matipo and late in the evening the male bird sat on the , topmost branch and poured forth his glorious song" These observations show that even in the midst of a town'it.is always possible to record something ; new about the most.common birds, me bird-lover never knows when he pi she may be rewarded with some such delightful glimpse into the ways of our.feathered friends -as that recorded above. - j