Search

Hill Myna stealing an egg

on 26th September 2007

On 18th September 2007, KC Tsang wrote: “I was at Upper Seletar this morning, and a flock of screaming Hill Mynas (Gracula religiosa) descended on a bare tree. There were about 15 of them, so wondering what the commotion was about, went nearer to the flock.

“Found that one of them had an egg between its bill, managed to take a picture of it, the bird with egg is at the top left hand corner (above left, arrow). And the next moment the myna lost the egg, the second picture shows the egg falling down, in the middle of the picture (above right, arrow).

“Whose egg was it? And why did the rest of the Hill Mynas got so excited about this Hill Myna having stolen an egg. Also, the egg was a bit too big for it to swallow…”

Hill Mynas are omnivorous. There have been records of them taking figs, swarming termites, large insects, lizards and even a snake. But I have not been able to locate any report of the bird raiding nests to take the eggs.

Can this be the first record?

According to R Subaraj, our bird specialist, there is no reason why Hill Myna should not raid nests for the eggs. The fact that there is no recorded observations does not mean that this myna does not indulge in such an activitiy.

KC Tsang with comment by R Subarag
Singapore
September 2007

PS: Just before posting, these thoughts came to me: Did the bird intentionally let go of the egg to break it? Did it fly down to feast on the contents? Are Hill Myna intelligent enough to do this? YC

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
1046
23227
Visitors Today
51762228
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)