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A second attempt at establishing the fledgling period of Javan Myna

on 22nd June 2018
The two adults showed concern when there were “strange” cries coming from the branches of the tree.

Every morning since 27th March 2018, a family of Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) comprising two adults and a recently fledged juvenile, walked through my garden to forage. This was followed by a return walk in the evenings. The characteristic begging cries of the juvenile announce their presence. After all, they nest under the roof of my back-neighbour’s house LINK. The video below shows the adults foraging with the 10 days old fledgling.

The adults brought the juvenile through my garden and out to the main road in front. From there they moved along the pavement, sometimes ending in a wayside tree where the adults flew in fruits like those of the Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) nearby to the noisy juvenile. The video below records the adults with the 12 days old fledgling foraging.

These were teaching sessions on how to survive outside the nest: foraging for food, recognising potential predators and how to avoid them. The adults walked around, picking up food to eat. The juvenile followed and beg loudly for food. Once in a while an adult would pass something to the juvenile. With time the juvenile learnt to pick up food for itself but it still kept on begging the adults for food. The video below shows the adults with the 15 days old juvenile.

By day 17 the juvenile was seen following one adult. There were no begging cries. The juvenile was feeding by itself. The following day only the two adults were seen foraging in the garden. The juvenile was nowhere in sight.

Did the juvenile moved off to be independent of the adults? At day 18? If so, the fledgling period was only 18 days, compared to the earlier 25 days, see HERE.

YC Wee
Singapore
15th April 2018

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

3 Responses

  1. After how many days do juvenile Javan mynas become independent and learn to feed themselves without parental help? In an earlier post done in collaboration with myself, our good webmaster said 25 days. In this post he said 18.
    I would say that the length of time depends on circumstances and the patience of the parents.
    Serious bird keepers always warn against forcing young birds to wean and learn to feed themselves too early. Such birds will often be underweight for life, and will generally display poor feather condition.
    On the other hand, like people, the baby birds themselves will often want to extend their dependency period far beyond normal expectations.
    I cannot speak from experience about Javan mynas in captivity. Even though it is believed that they were introduced to Singapore through the pet bird trade, they are so common today that hardly anyone in aviculture breeds them.
    But I can talk about the much more valuable Indian Hill Mynas which are now being commercially bred.
    Baby mynas will refuse to take care of themselves independently as long as someone is around to pander to their needs.
    Many bird keepers want pets that are very tame. To encourage tameness and dependency, they continue to hand-feed their pets long after they should have been capable of taking care of themselves. We know for a fact that young Hill Mynas will not pick up their own food as long as somebody continues to put it into their beaks.
    Some may not be weaned and independent until they are two or three months old.
    And with the large parrots and macaws, there may be babies eight or more months old that still insist on being hand fed.

  2. Yes, I would agree with you on this. After all, why should you do things yourself when there are others willing to do for you!

  3. My outdoor cat brought home a dead myna fledgling. I was thinking that my cat wouldn’t touch anything dead so it must have killed a live fledgling. When I went to throw away the bird, my cat tagged along. Then my cat spotted another fledgling hopping around. After seeing the cat it hid. My son caught it as the cat wanted to attack it. We bought it to a nearby spot but away from the cat for it’s parents to tend to it

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