Common Hill Mynah bird

Description

Common Hill Mynah Bird Certainly! Here's some information about the **Common Hill Mynah bird** (also spelled as "myna bird"): The **Common Hill Mynah** (scientific name: *Gracula religiosa*) is a lively and social bird with wonderfully outgoing personalities. These birds are friendly, clever, and adapt well to living in cages. They are known for their remarkable mimicking abilities, which allow them to imitate various sounds and even human speech. If you're interested in owning a Common Hill Mynah, you can find them for sale through various sources. For example, there are listings for mynah birds available in different states such as North Carolina, California, Florida, and New Jersey. Prices can vary depending on factors like age and whether the bird is tamed or not. Keep in mind that adopting a bird is a long-term commitment. Before bringing home a Common Hill Mynah or any other pet bird, ensure that you can provide a healthy and loving environment for many years to come. Bird rescue organizations prioritize finding forever homes for their adoptable birds, so consider adoption as an option if you're ready to make that commitment. Feel free to explore further if you decide to welcome a feathered friend into your home! 🐦. Sexes are similar; juveniles have a duller bill.  

Common Hill Mynah bird taxonomy

With the southern, Nias and Enggano hill mynas as separate species, the common hill myna, Gracula religiosa, has seven subspecies, which differ only slightly. In taxonomic order, they are: G. r. peninsularis Whistler & Kinnear, 1933 – the Bastar hill myna; central India (the state bird of Chhattisgarh, India) G. r. intermedia Hay, 1845 – northwestern Indochina and adjacent northeastern India and southern China G. r. andamanensis (Beavan, 1867) – the Andaman hill myna; the Andaman and Nicobar Islands G. r. religiosa Linnaeus, 1758 – the eastern hill myna; the Greater Sundas (except Sulawesi) and Peninsular Malaysia G. r. miotera Oberholser, 1917 – the Simeulue hill myna; Simeulue Island. Possibly extinct in the wild. G. r. batuensis Finsch, 1899 – the Batu hill myna; the Batu and Mentawai Islands G. r. palawanensis (Sharpe, 1890) – the Palawan hill myna; Palawan in the Philippines Certainly! Let me take you on a journey into the enchanting world of the **Common Hill Myna**. 🌿🐦 This captivating Common Hill Mynah bird, also known as *Gracula religiosa*, is a stocky jet-black myna with bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and fleshy wattles on the side of its head and nape. At about **29 cm** in length, it's somewhat larger than the common myna. Its overall, green-glossed black plumage, purple-tinged head, and neck give it an air of mystery and elegance. But what truly sets the Common Hill Myna apart is its vocal prowess. Imagine standing in a forest clearing high in the canopy at dawn or dusk, surrounded by these remarkable birds. Their calls fill the air, a symphony of whistles, wails, screeches, and gurgles. Some of these sounds are melodious, while others are eerily human-like in quality. Each individual has a repertoire of three to thirteen call types, learned when they were young. And here's the fascinating part: dialects change rapidly with distance. Birds living more than **15 km** apart have no call types in common with one another! Now, let's debunk a common misconception: unlike some other birds that imitate their surroundings in the wild, such as the greater racket-tailed drongo, the Common Hill Myna doesn't mimic other birds. However, put it in captivity, and it becomes a virtuoso mimic—the only bird perhaps on par with the grey parrot. It can reproduce everyday sounds—particularly the human voice—and even whistled tunes with astonishing accuracy and clarity. So next time you find yourself in a forest clearing at dawn or dusk, listen carefully—you might just hear the mesmerizing calls of the Common Hill Myna echoing through the trees. 🌳🎶.

The **common hill myna** (Gracula religiosa), sometimes spelled "mynah," is a glossy black myna with bright orange-yellow patches of naked skin and fleshy wattles on the side of its head and nape. It's a member of the starling family (Sturnidae) and is resident in hill regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. At about 29 cm in length, it's somewhat larger than the common myna (Acridotheres tristis). The common hill myna has overall green-glossed black plumage, purple-tinged on the head and neck. Its large, white wing patches are obvious in flight but mostly covered when the bird is sitting. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles on the nape and under the eye. These birds are known for their wide repertoire of sounds: they give a myriad of screams, squeaks, chirps, and whistles. Their specific name "religiosa" may allude to the practice of teaching mynas to repeat prayers . They inhabit tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, mountains, mangrove forests, and plantation areas. Common hill mynas are usually found high in the canopy, moving in large noisy groups of about half a dozen, in treetops at the edge of the forest.