I was wondering what the bird could be since yesterday... Early in the morning, I woke up by the calls of myna..which includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks and whistles, I just peeped through the balcony door and found it is indeed "myna". So the myna is trying to occupy the sparrow nest box.. and I could realize that It is unable to move in smoothly to complete the nest as the diameter of the hole is not big enough to allow myna eaither. The myna is tapping the side of the hole to widen.. I could see a behavious of wood pecker in this myna. Infact, it was trying to widen the hole of the wooden nest box..
Then I made a study on "myna":
The Common Myna is readily identified by the brown body, black hooded head and the bare yellow patch behind the eye. The bill and legs are bright yellow. There is a white patch on the outer primaries and the wing lining on the underside is white. The sexes are similar and birds are usually seen in pairs. I came to know that they breed through much of the year depending on the location, building their nest in a hole in a tree or wall, in this case they try to occupy the sparrow's nest by force!!!!
The nesting process is shabby, and not clean like sparrow, as myna the nesting material used by mynas include twigs, roots, tow and rubbish. Mynas have been known to use tissue paper, tin foil and sloughed off snake-skin.
Ha ha .. the notorious behaviour identified form wiki:-
The Common Myna uses the nests of woodpeckers, parakeets, etc. and easily takes to nest boxes; it has been recorded evicting the chicks of previously nesting pairs by holding them in the beak and later sometimes not even using the emptied nest boxes. This aggressive behaviour is considered to contribute to its success as an invasive species.
Food and feedings of Myna.
Like most starlings, the Common Myna is omnivorous. It feeds on insects, arachnids, crustaceans, reptiles, small mammals, seeds, grain and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation. It forages on the ground among grass for insects, our 'myna' is feeding rice & bajra from the bird feeder. see the pic below...
The myna is considered as one of most worst invasive species. It is considered as a pest in many countries. I earned a nickname of "flying rat" owing to its scavanging nature.
Pretty SAD... As usual today morning also the Ex-tenants!?? of the nest box, the pair of sparrows came for feeding from the birdfeeder. But they are terrified even to go near their old dwelling nest box.. i think they might got some nasty blows from the invasive mynas.. so terrified the meek sparrows after having a few morsals of feeds..just fly away!!!! see a pic...
Dilemma:- I am confronted with a dilemma and catch-22 situation now!!! whether to allow the myna to occupy the sparrow nesting box and to continue and comple the nesting cycle...or to consider it as an invasive species and still modify the dia of the hole for access only to sparrows?
After pondering over the issue, I decided to allow the myna.. to continue its nesting cycle.. after all I should not be partial to one species, as per the law of nature.. let the fittest survive, or survival of the fittest..according I had facilite the myna a smooth entry by widening the entry hole in the nest box.. see the picture below:
To know more about the invasive nature of the myna.. please refer to the handbook by following the link
http://www.indianmyna.org/documents/Indian_Myna_Handbookl.pdf
Then I made a study on "myna":
The Common Myna is readily identified by the brown body, black hooded head and the bare yellow patch behind the eye. The bill and legs are bright yellow. There is a white patch on the outer primaries and the wing lining on the underside is white. The sexes are similar and birds are usually seen in pairs. I came to know that they breed through much of the year depending on the location, building their nest in a hole in a tree or wall, in this case they try to occupy the sparrow's nest by force!!!!
The nesting process is shabby, and not clean like sparrow, as myna the nesting material used by mynas include twigs, roots, tow and rubbish. Mynas have been known to use tissue paper, tin foil and sloughed off snake-skin.
Ha ha .. the notorious behaviour identified form wiki:-
The Common Myna uses the nests of woodpeckers, parakeets, etc. and easily takes to nest boxes; it has been recorded evicting the chicks of previously nesting pairs by holding them in the beak and later sometimes not even using the emptied nest boxes. This aggressive behaviour is considered to contribute to its success as an invasive species.
Food and feedings of Myna.
Like most starlings, the Common Myna is omnivorous. It feeds on insects, arachnids, crustaceans, reptiles, small mammals, seeds, grain and fruits and discarded waste from human habitation. It forages on the ground among grass for insects, our 'myna' is feeding rice & bajra from the bird feeder. see the pic below...
Pretty SAD... As usual today morning also the Ex-tenants!?? of the nest box, the pair of sparrows came for feeding from the birdfeeder. But they are terrified even to go near their old dwelling nest box.. i think they might got some nasty blows from the invasive mynas.. so terrified the meek sparrows after having a few morsals of feeds..just fly away!!!! see a pic...
After pondering over the issue, I decided to allow the myna.. to continue its nesting cycle.. after all I should not be partial to one species, as per the law of nature.. let the fittest survive, or survival of the fittest..according I had facilite the myna a smooth entry by widening the entry hole in the nest box.. see the picture below:
Hope my decision is Fair....
To know more about the invasive nature of the myna.. please refer to the handbook by following the link
http://www.indianmyna.org/documents/Indian_Myna_Handbookl.pdf
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