The Ecology of the Common Myna (Acridotheres Tristis L.) in Hawke’s Bay

Abstract

The common myna (Acridotheres tristis), a native of India, east and west Pakistan and Burma, has been introduced by European man to many Pacific lands, usually to combat invertebrate pests. This attribute has been questioned by some authors (Kent, 1927; Eddinger, 1967), while these and others (Cunningham, 1951; Oliver, 1955) have blamed the bird for eating fruit and vegetables, for the disappearance of some native birds in Hawaii and for reducing the starling population in some areas of New Zealand (Cunningham, 1951; Caithness, 1964). Despite the birds' wide distribution and seeming economic importance, published reports of research on mynas are confined to a few small-scale studies of breeding (Lamba, 1963; Eddinger, 1967; Sengupta, 1968) and scattered notes on distribution and behaviour (Hume, 1875, 1878, 1880, 1889; Barnes, 1885; Oates, 1889; Munn, 1894; Inglis, 1910, 1943, 1958; Currie, 1916; Baker, 1926, 1933; Whistler, 1941 and Ali, 1964).