Skip to main content

Javan Myna

Acridotheres javanicus
I spent all day yesterday at the San Diego Zoo and hung out in the various aviaries for quite a while. My favorite was the one that featured the birds of South East Asia- those Bali Mynas just seemed to pose so perfectly! But alas, I've written about the Bali Myna before, so lets learn today about one of their genus sharing cousins, the Javan Myna.

Where the Bali is white, the Javan is black. They have specks of white on their tails and wings, and sport bright yellow eyes and beaks. They are found throughout South East Asia, either as a native or an invasive species, depending on the area. Javan Mynas are very adaptable birds; they live in a variety of habitats and feed on many different types of food.

Javan Mynas live in large flocks, and are actually able to mimic the calls of other birds. Alas, while some Mynas are able to mimic humans, this particular species cannot.

Javan Mynas are incredibly common birds throughout their range, and so they are not in any conservation-related danger. In fact, they might be causing some issues with other bird populations, as they are an invasive species. Their adaptability has allowed them to successfully spread into urban areas, and did you know that they are the most populous bird in the small nation of Singapore?

IUCN Status : Data Deficient
Location : Southeast Asia
Size : Length up to 10in (25cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Sturnidae -- Genus : Acridotheres -- Species : A. javanicus

Comments

  1. I've seen a myna in the zoo and it definitely can mimic. It actually calls everyone "sexy". Cool!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The good thing about myna's is that this birds are trainable and can mimic the word you teach

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Binturong

The Binturong ( Arctictis binturong ) also has an equally awesome alternate common name, the Bearcat! However, it really isn't much of a bear OR a cat. While it is true that it is part of the Feliforma suborder, it is not a member of family Felidae. Binturongs are a part of their own family, Viverridae, which is shared with Civets, Linsangs, and Genets. There are six subspecies of Binturong, all of which have slight differences based upon location and habitat. Binturongs range in body size from 60-100cm in length, (not including their tail which has roughly the same length) and weigh between 20 and 30lbs. Binturongs are nocturnal animals native to the rain forests of South East Asia. The species range spans through several countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are tree dwelling mammals, and have fully prehensile tails that basically double their body length and can be used to cling to the trees or to grasp food. Binturongs are phe