Animalia Life
Acridotheres cristatellus
SUBFAMILY
Sturninae
TAXONOMY
Gracula cristatella Linnaeus, 1766. Three races recognized.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Chinese jungle myna, Chinese crested myna, Chinese
starling, tufted myna; French: Martin huppй; German:
Haubenmaina; Spanish: Mainб China.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
8.7–10.2 in (22–26 cm). Sexes similar; black with an ivory bill,
orange eye, and longer feathers forming a crest on the lower
forehead; juvenile slightly browner, with less of a crest, and
blue eyes.
DISTRIBUTION
Lowlands of south Asia; introduced to Malaya, the Philippines
(Luzon, Negros), and Vancouver, British Columbia; A. c.
cristatellus, eastern Burma to southeast and central China; A. c.
brevipennis, Hainan; A. c. formosanus, Taiwan.
HABITAT
Open country, farmlands.
BEHAVIOR
Gregarious, but pair members remain obviously together.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Very opportunistic and somewhat omnivorous; feeds mainly on
the ground by inserting the bill into substrate and opening it
to probe; also chases insects flushed from ground; some fruit
included in the diet; sometimes associated with cattle; known
to scavenge on beaches.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Colonial or solitary cavity nester that uses woodpecker holes,
niches on buildings, bird houses, and similar sites. Clutch of
four to seven pale blue or blue-green eggs are incubated about
14 days; chicks fledge at about 21 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Often kept as a cage bird.
Photo Gallery of - Crested myna
