Common ("Indian") Myna (Introduced)
Acridotheres tristis
Family: Sturnidae (Starlings and allies, 3 species in Australia)
Size: 23-25 cm
Distribution: Within about 100-200 km of the coasts of eastern Australia and VIC, around areas settled by people.
Status: Locally Abundant to Common
Habitat: Urban
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest, Common Indian Myna Web Site
The Common Myna (usually called the Indian Myna) is a well known introduced bird of urban and settled areas. Some peope say it is regarded as Australia's number one feral enemy (which is a large claim considering the damage done by some of the other main feral species like the red fox and the cane toad). The indian myna takes over nesting hollows that would otherwise be used by native birds and small mammals, and they prey on nests of other birds. They are often seen around garbage bins and garbage in general.
Although it is easily the most hated bird in Australia and many other countries, in India, where they come from originally (and where they belong), people like them. In India the Common Indian Myna is called the “Farmer’s Friend” because it eats insects that destroy crop plants. The name myna comes from a Hindi word, “maina” meaning a bird of the starling family, Sturnidae, to which mynas belong. Mynas in India are also regarded as symbols of undying love, because they often pair for life and maina is also sometimes used as a term of endearment for young girls.
Photo: Lake Parramatta, NSW. High Resolution (2413 x 1858).
Photo: Lake Parramatta, NSW. High Resolution (1636 x 2394).
Photo: Lake Parramatta, NSW.
Some Birdwatching Resources
|  Tasco Essentials 10x50 Binoculars I have the 8x40 of this series, which I bought because I saw them on special, and they had a much clearer image than the cheap no-name brand binoculars I had before. I would have got 10x50 instead if they had been on special also. These are great basic binoculars which can be used for birdwatching, stargazing, etc.
The first number (like 8 or 10) refers to the magnification, so bigger numbers mean you can see closer up, but the image will shake around more. The second number (like 40 or 50) is the diameter of the large lenses in millimetres. Bigger numbers mean more light gets in, so the image is clearer and better, at the expense of being larger and heavier to carry around.
With binoculars, once you get above the really cheap models (like $30-50), the image quality is pretty good. You can pay a lot more, like a few hundred dollars, or $1000 or $2000 even — but most of what you get isn't so much raw image quality but other features like durability, being waterproof, better lens coatings, image stabilisation, etc. Cheaper binoculars are more delicate and if not treated gently the two sides can go out of alignment with each other.
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Purchase from Australia (Tentworld)
Purchase from Australia (BCF) Browse different models of binoculars at [Tentworld] [Wild Earth] [BCF] [Kathmandu] [DWI] [Kogan] [Amazon USA]
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