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Mynas as pets

on 21st August 2009

Jeremy Lee relates his experience keeping mynas as pets after learning of the Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) chick taken by a cat.

“At least you had the chick only for 14 days. When you have kept one and have taken him out on daily walks and cycling trips for a year and a cat takes it away from you…

“That’s the only sad part about keeping tame birds… they tend to have a tragic end. Keeping them in a cage is sad. But I don’t know if giving them the additional freedom at the expense of shortening its life is worth it.

“My grandma’s mynas live for more than 10 years. The last one we gave her is still alive at 12 years old. My grandma has since passed away. She loves mynas too.

“Sometime in 1991 I was in a camp in Changi, I heard the distress calls of mynas and instinct from having these birds around me made me stop what I was doing and quickly scanned the area to look at the bird that was making the call. Its gaze pointed to a cat all coiled up ready to pounce. A few metres away was a young fledgling… Without hesitation I ran to intervene. I was less than 10 metres away. I arrived within the same distance as the cat from the bird when the cat too decided to make the strike. It could not abort the strike…”

Well, Jeremy did save the myna and gives this advice:

“I never ever let any of my mynas out of my sight. Especially when young. They have not learnt about the swiftest death on four legs. Even when they are adults… I always have a special signal drained into them. They hear that signal from me… they get off the ground immediately and fly somewhere safe.

“Even then, I had a few that just never came home… probably due to cats getting them. Being alone, domesticated mynas do not have the benefit of more than one pair of eyes. Even squabbling pairs of mynas sprawled on the floor break off and take off when any myna makes a distress call. Birds can be very nervous and anxious, many bird owners give them drops or CBD treats to make their health improve and feel better.

“I recall one of my mynas had this habit of perching on the crossbar of my racing bike as we went cycling around the estate. If we came across any mynas on the ground, he would lift off from the crossbar and for that short moment would be in flight just under my chin and then it would take off like a missile and pick up a fight. Sometime if the going got rough it would come back to the perch. Any bird chasing it would just turn away. He knew where it was safe.

“Sometimes the fight got downright dirty with the birds flopping all over the floor. I got off my bike to split them up. Hard to tell who was who when sometimes I had three birds in hand, all struggling as hard. All screaming the same tune. That tune, the natural distress call of all mynas. But for my myna it seemed to be ‘let me go you fool, I want to rip more feathers out of that asshole’

“Most of the time it was 50/50. I opened one hand and the bird took off as if it had seen a ghost. The other scenario… I open one hand and the bird furiously attacked the bird in the other hand… sometimes I got cuts and nicks from the ferocity of the attack. Whatever it was… most of the neighbourhood mynas kept their distance when we were around. This was our Controlled Airspace.”

Image of Javan Myna by 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

  1. My sympathies to Jeremy on losing his mynahs. I made the same mistake once of having mynahs that were too tame, and will do my best not to repeat it.

    For years, I have maintained several aviaries to breed songbirds and lorikeets. Feeding is done in the mornings and evenings. I always make sure there is a serving for wild birds, and hand them the leftovers as well. Standard fare every day consists of commercial softbill mix, fruits, mealworms and budgerigar seed.

    Regular outside visitors are three pairs of mynahs, (one pair of local common mynahs and two pairs of Javan) a spotted dove, and a flock of sparrows.

    Javan mynahs are incredibly brazen. Within a short time, I had some eating out of my hand. Those were not fledglings but wild adults. Sadly, those very tame birds soon disappeared.

    Today, after I have finished with my aviaries, I simply leave the bowl of food for the wild birds and walk away, observing from a distance. The dominant pair of Javans are always first to the food, usually when I am still quite close by. The other pair also hangs around. I can recognise my regular visitors, and know that they attack new birds in the neighbourhood.

    I have noticed this time and time again – when I move back further, the Javans retreat before the onslaught of the common mynahs. I have never seen a Javan displace a common mynah, but the common mynahs always displace the Javan mynahs.

    Perhaps this explains why the common mynah has not been exterminated by the Javan mynah even though both occupy the same ecological niche. The Javan is more brash, and first to food, showing less fear of humans. But the common mynahs appear to be physically more powerful. When people are not around, they can easily push the Javan mynahs away.

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