Bank Myna is a myna

Myna

The myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...

 found in South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

. It is smaller but similar in colouration to the Common Myna

Common Myna

The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...

 but differs in having a brick red bare skin behind the eye in place of yellow. It is greyer on the underside and in this and in the presence of a slight tuft of feathers bears some resemblance to the Jungle Myna

Jungle Myna

The Jungle Myna, Acridotheres fuscus, is a myna, a member of the starling family.- Range :This bird is a common resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Burma east to Indonesia.- Habitat :...

. They are found in flocks on the plains of northern and central India, often within towns and cities. Their range appears to be on the increase towards the south of India. The name is derived from their habit of nesting almost exclusively in the earthen banks of rivers where they excavate holes and breed in large colonies.

Description

The head is black on the crown and sides and the upper plumage is slaty grey while the underside is lighter grey with pale pink plumage towards the centre of the abdomen. The wing is black but has a wing patch at the base of the primaries and the tips of the outer tail feathers are pale pinkish buff. The naked skin behind the eye is brick red, the legs are yellow while the iris is deep red. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Young birds have a browner head and neck.

The species is evolutionarily closest to the Common Myna

Common Myna

The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...

.

Habitat and distribution

The native range of the Bank Myna is almost restricted to the Indian Subcontinent from the Indus valley in the West, to the Gangetic delta in the East and south of the lower foothills of the Himalayas, only rarely being found in sheltered valleys. They are found mainly in the vicinity of open water and their usual habitat is cultivated farmland and open country but flocks will often live within cities, in markets and railway stations. They make use of food scrap disposed by humans, even following catering vehicles at airports to standing aircraft.
The distribution was formerly noted to be restricted north roughly of a line between Bombay and Balasore in Orissa, but the species may be expanding its range. A specimen from Kandahar was earlier considered the westernmost record a vagrant, but the birds have since established in the region. Although mainly resident, they make movements in response to food and weather. The species name of the bird is based on the name given by Latham from a description by Pierre Sonnerat

Pierre Sonnerat

Pierre Sonnerat was a French naturalist and explorer.Sonnerat was the nephew of the botanist Pierre Poivre. He made several voyages to southeast Asia, visiting the Philippines and Moluccas between 1769 and 1772, and India and China from 1774 to 1781. He was the first person to give a scientific...

 who described Le petit Martin de Gingi in 1782, referring to Gingee

Gingee

Gingee is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The nearest town with a railway station is Tindivanam, 28 km away....

 near Pondicherry in southern India. Thomas C. Jerdon

Thomas C. Jerdon

Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...

 noted in 1863 that the species did not occur in southern India however the species was recorded in the region in 1914 at Vandalur near Madras. Records from further south in India are however increasing. Breeding colonies have been found in Assam.

These mynas have been introduced into Kuwait, where they have established in the wild. Flocks have also been found in the Maldives, Taiwan and Japan.

Behaviour and ecology

Bank Mynas are gregarious foraging in flocks, breeding colonially and roosting together in trees. They perch on livestock and live in crowded towns allowing close approach, often picking up scraps in markets and dumps. They are vociferous and use a wide range of calls that include clucks, croaks, screeches, whistles and warbling elements.

Bank Mynas feed on grain, insects and fruits. Like the Common Myna

Common Myna

The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...

, they sometimes follow grazing animals picking up disturbed insects or even ticks on the animals. They feed on ripening crops such as those of Sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

, grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 and pearl millet

Pearl millet

Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. Grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times, it is generally accepted that pearl millet originated in Africa and was subsequently introduced into India. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for...

. They feed on a variety of insects, including some that are crop pests such as Achaea janata

Achaea janata

The Castor Semi-Looper, Achaea janata, is a Noctuid moth, the caterpillars of which are termed 'semi-loopers' due to their mode of locomotion and feed on Castor Ricinus communis...

whose caterpillars feed on castor

Castor

Castor derives from the , meaning "beaver", or "he who excels". It originally referred to Castor, one of the Dioscuri/Gemini twins of Graeco-Roman mythology.Castor or CASTOR may also refer to:-Science and technology:...

.
Bank Mynas have a nesting season from April to July or August, most birds breeding in May and June. The nest is always built in earth walls, on the banks of rivers, embankments or the sides of open wells. They will sometimes make use of holes in brick walls. Nests have also been recorded between stacked bales of sugarcane stalks. They excavate the nest hole, the egg chamber sometimes 4 to 7 feet from the entrance. The nest is lined with grass, feathers and sometimes snake sloughs. About four of five pale sky blue or greenish-blue eggs is the usual clutch. Two broods may be raised in the same season. The eggs hatch after about 13 to 14 days. Nestlings open their eyes after about 5 days and fledge in about 21 days. About 38% of the eggs hatched into young that fledged in one study.

A species of coccidia

Coccidia

Coccidia is a subclass of microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida. Coccidian parasites infect the intestinal tracts of animals, and are the largest group of apicomplexan protozoa....

n parasite, Isospora ginginiana, and several species nematode (Oxyspirura, Choanotaenia, Hymenolepis sp.) have been described from the species.