Common myna

Commonly seen along roadsides, on lawns and in clearings near houses.

Story

A tropical bird from South Asia, released in the 1870s to eat insect pests. The southern birds died out, but northern ones spread, reaching Auckland around 1947. It is now one of the north's most conspicuous birds.

Behaviour

Pairs mate for life and defend their nest site fiercely, destroying the eggs and chicks of other birds nearby. Mynas can evict kōtare from nest holes. At dusk they gather in noisy communal roosts.