Crested myna

The crested myna (Acridotheres cristatellus), also known as the Chinese starling, is a species of starling in the genus Acridotheres native to southeastern China and Indochina.<ref name=":0">Feare, C., Craig, A., Croucher, B., Shields, C., Komolphalin, K. (1998). Starlings and Mynas. London: Christopher Helm Publisher Ltd. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is named after the tuft of feathers on its forehead that resembles a crest.<ref name=":1" />

The crested myna is typically found in open spaces near urban and agricultural areas.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is a popular cage bird and, as a result, has been accidentally released in a few places outside of its usual range.<ref name=":0" /> For example, this species was introduced around 1890 into the Vancouver region of British Columbia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> It was initially successful, reaching a population in the thousands, however, it has since then gone locally extinct in the area.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">Template:Cite journalTemplate:Open access</ref>

Like many starlings, the crested myna is omnivorous.<ref name=":1" /> It will eat a variety of food including worms, grubs, grains, fruit, and even garbage.<ref name=":1" /> It is a highly beneficial bird to farmers, as it feeds on insects and does not attack crops.<ref name=":2" />

Taxonomy

In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the crested myna in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "Chinese starling or Black Bird".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the crested myna with the other mynas in the genus Gracula. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Gracula cristatella and cited Edwards' work.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The specific epithet cristatella is a Latin diminutive of cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The crested myna is now placed in the genus Acridotheres that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was previously placed in the genus Aethiospar, which included the mynas that had a fully feathered or tufted face.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Acridotheres was formerly the group of bare-skin faced mynas.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Now, the two genera form a new group that keeps the name Acridotheres.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

Three subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>

• A. c. cristatellus (Linnaeus, 1758) – south and southeast China
• A. c. brevipennis Hartert, E, 1910 – Hainan Island (off southeast China) and Indochina
• A. c. formosanus (Hartert, E, 1912) – Taiwan

Description

The crested myna is named after the tuft of feathers that form a crest-like structure on its forehead that covers the bird's nostrils.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> It is mostly black with a slight green sheen. It has a couple of white wing patches under its wings which are more visible during flight.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The tips and the base of the primaries are white.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The tail feathers also have white tips with the exception of the middle pair.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The under-tail coverts are black with a white tip.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The adult's eyes are orange, its bill is pale yellow, and its legs are a dull dark yellow.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Its bill is slender and very sharp.<ref name=":2" /> The males are slightly larger than the females.<ref name=":3" /> The female's crest is slightly less well-developed.<ref name=":3" /> Otherwise, there is no sexual dimorphism.<ref name=":1" /> The subspecies A. c. brevipennis, has proportionally smaller wings and a smaller bill. The feathers that form the crest are narrower than the ones from the nominate subspecies.<ref name=":0" /> A. c. formosanus is slightly smaller than the nominate subspecies and its bill is greenish-yellow. Its under-tail coverts are white and it has a more developed crest.<ref name=":0" />

The hatchlings are born naked except for of a short gray down found on certain parts of the bird.<ref name=":3" /> In about 18 to 20 days, the juveniles become fully covered with brown feathers.<ref name=":3" /> The crest is usually not well developed at this stage.<ref name=":3" /> Immature crested mynas have blue-gray eyes.<ref name=":3" />

Distribution and habitat

The crested myna can be found in a wide range of habitats from urban to rural areas. In cities, it can be seen in the eaves of buildings, along roads and alleys, near gardens and parks, in parking lots. It can be found under bridges, in trees, in chimneys, and on roofs. In rural areas, it can be spotted on agricultural fields, in orchards and farmyards, near manure piles. It can be seen near plowed fields to take advantage of the invertebrates found in the tilled soil. It is often seen near cattle as it eats the insects around them. It is also commonly distributed in grasslands, fields and at the edge of forests.

The range spans from southeastern and central China to northern Indochina.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> It is found in the Yangtze valley and the southeastern Jiangxi Province in China.<ref name=":0" /> The crested myna has also been recorded in Burma, Taiwan and Hainan.<ref name=":0" />

File:Crested myna, Osaka.jpg

A crested myna wades in water

As a popular cage bird, it is often transported outside of its normal range and, on occasion, can be accidentally released and introduced in a new area.<ref name=":1" /> For example, in the late 1800s, it was introduced to Vancouver, British Columbia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> It was able to proliferate and its population grew to around 20,000 to 30,000 individuals.<ref name=":0" /> It could be found anywhere from the south of the province to Washington and Oregon.<ref name=":0" /> By the mid-20th century, the numbers began declining, and the bird is now extirpated in North America.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> Other examples of the crested myna's introduction can be seen in Portugal.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref> The bird was discovered breeding around Lisbon, Portugal in 1997.<ref name=":6" /> They are now established on both sides of the Tagus estuary to the west of Lisbon and also on the Setúbal Peninsula.<ref name=":6" />

The crested myna has also been successfully introduced in Penang, Singapore, Manila, as well as parts of Japan and Argentina.<ref name=":0" /> The Crested myna is called "Martinez" in the Philippines

Behaviour

Vocalization

Template:Birdsong The crested myna has a wide array of songs and calls, from whistles to warbles to chortles.<ref name=":3">Johnson, S. R. and R. W. Campbell (1995). "Crested Myna" (Acridotheres cristatellus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. {{#invoke:CS1 identifiers|main|_template=doi}}</ref> When alarmed, it emits a raspy jaaay.<ref name=":3" /> Other calls include a series of chuffs or creeks.<ref name=":3" /> Vocal mimicry of human voices and other yard birds in crested mynas has been reported.<ref name=":3" /> However, birds held in captivity were not found to be good mimics.<ref name=":3" />

Diet

The crested myna is an omnivorous bird.<ref name=":1" /> Although it eats mainly insects,<ref name=":0" /> this bird can eat a wide variety of items including fruit, grains, meat, manure and garbage.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Its diet varies seasonally.<ref name=":1" /> On average, 40% of the adult bird's diet is meat and 60% is vegetation.<ref name=":1" /> However, in September, the proportion of meat in its diet increases to around 50–60%, where almost half of it is flies.<ref name=":1" /> In the winter months, as insects and fruit are less common, the crested myna eats a lot more garbage (representing about 15% of its diet).<ref name=":1" />

Its diet also varies with the life stages of the bird.<ref name=":1" /> Juveniles eat proportionally more animal matter than adults<ref name=":1" /> Approximately 75% of their diet is made of meat (50% of which is from insects).<ref name=":1" /> Similarly to adult crested mynas, the proportion of insects and fruit that the juveniles eat increases with availability and abundance.<ref name=":1" />

Reproduction

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File:Crested myna (fledgling), Osaka, Japan.jpg

A fledgling

The crested mynas build their nests in a variety of places. In a forest, it builds its nest in holes caused by woodpeckers or decay. In urban areas, the nests can be found in chimneys, drains, and crevices among other places. Most nests are built in April or May. Both the male and the female take part in the construction of the nest. To build the nest, the crested mynas have been known to use just about anything they can find from grass to branches to garbage.

The first clutch of the season appears during the end of April or during May. Most pairs are double-brooded, which means they will have a second clutch in the same season. The second clutch appears in June to mid-August. The eggs are of a light blue-green color and have a similar shape to that of robin eggs. Typically, the clutch size is around 4–6 eggs. Every day, one egg is hatched. The hatchlings are born altricially. The eggs are incubated for 14 days, after which the fledglings move out of the nest onto a nearby tree or shrub. The parents keep feeding them for about a week.

The immature crested mynas do not separate from their parents. They typically form small family groups and form a larger flock with others for feeding and traveling.

Status and conservation

Since 1998, the crested myna has been rated as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. It has a range that is larger than 20,000 km² and therefore, its range is too large for this bird to be considered vulnerable under the criterion of range size. Also, the population trends seem to be stable (over the last ten years or three generations) and so, this bird cannot be considered vulnerable under the criterion of population trends. Finally, it is believed that the population size exceeds 10,000 mature individuals and therefore its this bird cannot be considered vulnerable under the criterion of population size.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

Further reading

• Gregory-Smith R. (1997). Pale-bellied Myna Acridotheres cinereus in Sarawak. Malayan Nature Journal. vol 50, no 4. pp. 355–356.
• Hsieh YC, Chen SH, Wang CW, Lee YF, Chung WC, Tsai MC, Chang TC, Lien YY & Tsai SS. (2005). Unusual pox lesions found in Chinese jungle mynahs (Acridotheres cristatellus). Avian Pathology. vol 34, no 5. pp. 415–417.
• Montalti D & Kopij G. (2001). Bird community of inner La Plata City, Argentina. Acta Ornithologica. vol 36, no 2. pp. 161–164.
• Navas JR. (2002). Introduced and naturalized exotic birds in Argentina. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Nueva Serie. vol 4, no 2. pp. 191–202.
• Nguyenclausen A. (1975). PREENING BEHAVIOR OF GROUP OF MYNA BIRDS, ACRIDOTHERES-CRISTATELLUS(GM). Behaviour. vol 53, pp. 91–108.
• Pranty B. (2001). The use of Christmas Bird Count data to monitor populations of exotic birds. American Birds. vol 102, pp. 24–28.
• Schmidt RE. (1983). Hyper Mature Cataract in a Crested Myna Leucopsar-Rothschildi. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. vol 19, no 2. pp. 158–159.
• Tang Z-Z & Tang C-T. (1993). Studies on the life cycle of Brachylaima mesostoma (Rud., 1803) Baer, 1933 (Trematoda: Brachylaimidae). Acta Zoologica Sinica. vol 39, no 1. pp. 13–18.
• Wang Y-P, Chen S-h & Ding P. (2003). Breeding birds and their nests in street tree strips in Hangzhou city. Zoological Research. p. 2003.