Which birds do I think of as “gangsters?” The wings of these birds at first flight reveal an evolutionarily shocking pattern to scare off predators. These birds are the noisiest birds in Hawaii. (That would be of the most prevalent birds as the annoying Rosy-faced Parakeet has a loud, penetrating call.) The noise of these “gangster” birds is incomparable when they fill a tree! But noise certainly doesn’t make them “gangsters” as most human examples of such are quiet and secretive.
Ever watch Mynah (Myna) Birds stroll around your yard or a park? The way that they walk always make me think that they are up to no good. But actually I have not seen them show aggressive behavior with other birds. I guess to me the Mynah just has a look of a bird comfortable in its well-established place in Hawaii.
Many of you may have already heard the raucous calls of a crowd of Mynahs. Before I retired from teaching and heard the squawks and screeches outside the classroom, the noise (and groups) made think the Mynah were all calling, “Fight! Fight!” It was funny to see their gatherings paralleling student behaviors in the same paved courtyards!
My blogging topics continue to be providential. Earlier this week, for an extended time, I was able to witness Mynahs fighting! I was alerted to it by repetitive and persistent loud Mynah calls outside my house. I was fascinated by the intensity of the fight, the number of fights, and the Mynah that just sort of officiated or monitored the fights. [See another two “providential” sighting blogs from last year: December 10. 2015 on butterflies and October 29, 2015 on anoles.]
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| First Mynah fights / in my yard / January 2016 |
Then I heard the distracting noises again about a half hour later. (Maybe earlier I had “broken up” the fights as I got closer for photos.) I guess it wasn’t resolved!
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| Second bouts of Mynah fights / in neighbor’s yard / January 2016 |
Unfortunately the incredible quiet-disturbing strident, squawking noise of the fights in the videos did not record for some reason! But it was great to be able to re-watch the videos and try to analyze what was happening. One reason Mynahs fight There are videos on YouTube too of others’ viewings; a fascinating sight to more than just me.
Second bouts of Mynah fights (video) / in neighbor’s yard / January 2016
Some observations:
1) Although I couldn’t identify individual birds, I am confident the same pairs kept fighting.
2) Another one or two looked on. As I review the videos, the onlooker could be female.
3) In the first video, look for one of the Mynah definitely giving postured displays of ruffled feathers and bobbing of the head.
4) A Mynah joined into a fight so there were three in a fight sometimes. This makes me wonder about fighting for nests; see my source above.
Australia seems to have similar histories regarding natural history and introduced species. Australia article on the Myna
I am surprised the Mynah (Myna) is related to the starling. To me, it seems to be related to a Crow or Raven or at least they seem to have that same role here in Hawaii. The Mynah and Crow / Raven are in different Families (Sturnidae / Corvidae) but the same Order (Passeriformes). That isn’t saying much as the passerines “includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds.” Another nice bird website
So next time you hear the raucous squawking of Mynahs stop and see the intensity of their fights. Maybe you can see for yourself if it is about nests or not!
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