The Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra) கறுப்பு வெள்ளை மைனா
The Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra) is a species (or possibly a species complex) of starling found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are usually found in small groups mainly on the plains and low foothills. They are often seen within cities and villages although they are not as bold as the common myna. They produce a range of calls made up of liquid notes. Several slight plumage variations exist in the populations and about five subspecies are named, but recent studies support upgrading the subspecies to three distinct species, one with 2 subspecies.
This myna is strikingly marked in black and white and has a yellowish bill with a reddish bill base. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The upper body, throat, and breast are black while the cheek, lores, wing coverts, and rump are contrastingly white. The sexes are similar in plumage but young birds have dark brown in place of black. The subspecies vary slightly in plumage, the extent of streaking of the feathers, and in measurements.
The flight is slow and butterfly-like on round wings.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Gracupica
Species: G. contra
Binomial name: Gracupica contra (Linnaeus, 1758)
To find this bird you can visit 8th street, Lakshmi Nagar, Madipakkam, Chennai - 600 091, in the early morning around 6 to 7 am. This bird could be seen every day during my early morning visit to Lakshminagar for Thuimai Iyakkam cleaning activities.
