From Opus

Photo by subramanya_ck
Ahmadabad, India, January 2010

Acridotheres ginginianus

[edit] Identification

22cm. A smallish Myna, locally called Ganga Maina.

• Grey plumage
• Black hood and frontal crest
• Glossy black wing with buff wing-patch
• Black tail with buff outertail feathers (prominent in flight)
• Red eye with large bare orange-red cheek-patch
• Orange bill and legs

Sexes similar. Juveniles are duller and browner with paler buff markings on wings and reduced buff on tail.

[edit] Distribution

Foothills of eastern Pakistan to southern Nepal, north-central India and Bangladesh. An old record from southeast Afghanistan.
Introduced in Japan and United Arab Emirates, also reports from Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. A rare exotic in Taiwan, but no proof of breeding.
A common species in most of its range.

[edit] Taxonomy

Juvenile
Photo by vaibhav mishra
Kasganj, Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India, June 2010

This is a monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

Cultivated areas (often near cattle) and cities.

[edit] Behaviour

Omnivorous. Feeds on animal food, fruit, seeds and food waste.
Forages usually in pairs or flocks.
Forms large communal roosts all year, often in sugar cane or reedbeds, also in trees or on buildings.
Breeding season mainly from April to June. A monogamous species. Excavates a tunnel in a river bank for its nest. Lays 3 - 6 eggs.
A resident species with some seasonal or nomadic movements in its range.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. BF Member observations
3. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

[edit] External Links