Brahminy Starling
Encyclopedia
The Brahminy Myna or Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum) is a member of the starling
family of bird
s. It is creamy orange bird with a black cap and a slight crest. They are usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of South Asia.
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This myna is pale buff creamy with a black cap and a loose crest. The bill is yellow with a bluish base. The iris is pale and there is a bluish patch of skin around the eye. The outer tail feathers have white and the black primaries of the wings do not have any white patches. The adult male has a more prominent crest than the female and also has longer neck hackles. Juveniles are duller and the cap is browner.
The species name pagodarum was given by presumably based on the usual occurrence of the species on buildings and temple pagodas in southern India.
and India
, a winter visitor to Sri Lanka
and a summer visitor in parts of the western Himalayas and northeastern Himalayas. They have musical call notes that are long made up of a series of slurred notes that ends abruptly. Although mainly seen on the plains there are a few records from above 3000m mainly from Ladakh
.
This passerine
is typically found in dry forest, scrub jungle and cultivation and is often found close to human habitations. The especially favour areas with waterlogged or marshy lands.
which are toxic to many vertebrates. These birds are not as arboreal as the Grey-headed Mynas and they form small flocks that mix with other mynas on grass covered ground. The sometimes forage beside grazing cattle. They also visit flowers for nectar, particularly Salmalia, Butea monosperma
and Erythrina
. They roost communally in large numbers in leafy trees, often in the company of parakeets and other mynas.
It builds its nest in tree holes or artificial cavities. The breeding season is March to September but varies with location, being earlier in southern India. Both sexes take part in nest building. The nest is lined with grass, feathers and rags. The normal clutch is 3-4 eggs which are pale bluish green. The eggs hatch in about 12 to 14 days. Two or three broods may be raised in succession.
In India, the bird is called Bamani myna (Bengal/Bihar), Kalasir myna (Hindi), Pabiyapawi (Uttar Bradesh), Harbola (Bengal) or Popoya myna. It was known as shaṇkarā in Sanskrit
and compared to a parivrājikā (female ascetic wanderer) in the Mahābhāṣya due to its serene appearance; the English name may reflect this or refer to the traditional Brahmin
choti hairstyle.
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
family of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. It is creamy orange bird with a black cap and a slight crest. They are usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of South Asia.
Description
The species name pagodarum was given by presumably based on the usual occurrence of the species on buildings and temple pagodas in southern India.
Distribution and habitat
It is a resident breeder in NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, a winter visitor to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and a summer visitor in parts of the western Himalayas and northeastern Himalayas. They have musical call notes that are long made up of a series of slurred notes that ends abruptly. Although mainly seen on the plains there are a few records from above 3000m mainly from Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
.
This passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
is typically found in dry forest, scrub jungle and cultivation and is often found close to human habitations. The especially favour areas with waterlogged or marshy lands.
Behaviour and ecology
Like most starlings, the Brahminy Starling is omnivorous, eating fruit and insects. They have been known to feed on the fruits of Thevetia peruvianaThevetia peruviana
Thevetia peruviana is a plant native to central and southern Mexico and Central America. It is a close relative of Nerium oleander, giving it one common name as Yellow Oleander, and is also called lucky nut in the West Indies....
which are toxic to many vertebrates. These birds are not as arboreal as the Grey-headed Mynas and they form small flocks that mix with other mynas on grass covered ground. The sometimes forage beside grazing cattle. They also visit flowers for nectar, particularly Salmalia, Butea monosperma
Butea monosperma
Butea monosperma is a species of Butea native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia...
and Erythrina
Erythrina
Erythrina is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, growing up to in height...
. They roost communally in large numbers in leafy trees, often in the company of parakeets and other mynas.
It builds its nest in tree holes or artificial cavities. The breeding season is March to September but varies with location, being earlier in southern India. Both sexes take part in nest building. The nest is lined with grass, feathers and rags. The normal clutch is 3-4 eggs which are pale bluish green. The eggs hatch in about 12 to 14 days. Two or three broods may be raised in succession.
In India, the bird is called Bamani myna (Bengal/Bihar), Kalasir myna (Hindi), Pabiyapawi (Uttar Bradesh), Harbola (Bengal) or Popoya myna. It was known as shaṇkarā in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and compared to a parivrājikā (female ascetic wanderer) in the Mahābhāṣya due to its serene appearance; the English name may reflect this or refer to the traditional Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
choti hairstyle.
Taxonomy and systematics
The starling genera have been found to be polyphyletic lead to the redefinition of genus boundaries. This species has been traditionally placed in the genus Sturnus and Temenuchus, but a 2008 study confidently placed it within the genus Sturnia (Zuccon et al. 2008).Other sources
- Tyagi, AK; Lamba,BS (1984) A Contribution to the Breeding Biology of Two Indian Mynas. (Records of the Zoological Survey of India. Occasional Papers, 55.) Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. 97 pages.
- Ali, SalimSalim Ali (ornithologist)Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Known as the "birdman of India", Salim Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and his bird books helped develop ornithology...
& Daniel, J.C. (1995): The book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History Society, India. - Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
- Jønsson, Knud A. & Fjeldså, Jon (2006): A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri). Zool. ScriptaZoologica ScriptaZoologica Scripta is a bi-monthly scientific journal on systematic zoology, published by Blackwell Publishing Limited, on behalf of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences...
35(2): 149–186. (HTML abstract)
External links
- Brahminy Starling photos, videos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection