# Great Myna

Scientific name: Acridotheres grandis

Bird group: [starling](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/starling)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/232/Great-Myna

## Identification

The great myna (Acridotheres grandis), also known as the white-vented myna, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Northeast India, through Bangladesh to Southeast Asia.
It is black with elongated forehead feathers, forming a frontal crest that may curl backwards. Its beak and feet are yellow. It has white from the vent to the tip of the tail and a white wing patch.


## Distribution and habitat

The Great Myna occurs from Nagaland through Bangladesh 
and Manipur to Burma, as well 
as through Southeast Asia and in 
southern China (Craig and Feare 
1998). Its native habitat includes 
mostly cultivated areas and 
other open habitats including 
grasslands and marshes, as 
well as parks, gardens, and golf 
courses (Craig and Feare 1998). 
The myna has been introduced 
via the pet trade to Puerto 
Rico where it has been found 
breeding only in the north and 
east coasts in open woodlands (Raffaele 1989a). An escaped 
cage bird was the only myna 
record noted for Vieques by 
Raffaele (1989b) and Gemmill 
(2015) but with no evidence for 
breeding. The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of two records 
within two hexagons or 0.4 
percent of the 479 total hexagons 
(see map). Of the two hexagons 
where this species was found, 
observations in one hexagon met 
the atlas definition of probable 
breeding, while the species was 
observed in the other hexagon 
but without evidence of breeding 
(see map). Great Myna distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      223Great Myna/Miná Grande 

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Great Myna 
normally breeds between April 
and July, and it usually nests in 
tree holes and roofs of houses 
(Deignan 1945). Only one 
probable breeding record was 
found during the atlas surveys, 
and the record occurred in the 
subtropical moist forest life zone 
in the month of February (see 
chart, map, and table). The two 
records for the myna indicated that the species appears to have 
shown no shift in range from 
its north and east coast range 
initially described by Raffaele 
(1989b).  

## Conservation

The global population size of the Great Myna has not been 
quantified or assessed, but 
the species is described as 
common throughout its native 
distributional range (Craig and 
Feare 1998). This species is currently listed as a species 
of least concern by the IUCN 
(BirdLife International 2016). 
Locally, this species is not 
listed in any of the threatened 
categories of PRDNER and 
USFWS. In Puerto Rico, the Great 
Myna has a protected habitat 
in land of about 23 percent 
(11 km2) of the total area covered by the hexagon where 
evidence of breeding was found 
for this species (48 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_232_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_232_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.