''Gracula'' is a genus of

myna The myna (; also spelled mynah) is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to southern Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Several species have been introduced to areas like ...

s, tropical members of the

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

family of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s found in southern Asia and introduced to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the United States.

Taxonomy

The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Gracula'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...

''. The genus name is from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''graculus'', an unknown bird sometimes identified as the

western jackdaw The western jackdaw (''Coloeus monedula''), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, the European jackdaw, or simply the jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa; it is mostly resident, alt ...

. Of the seven species listed by Linnaeus, George Gray designated the

common hill myna The common hill myna (''Gracula religiosa''), sometimes spelled "mynah" and formerly simply known as the hill myna or myna bird, is the myna most commonly seen in aviculture, where it is often simply referred to by the latter two names. It is a ...

(''Gracula religiosa'') as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. Until recently only two species were recognised, ''G. religiosa'' and ''G. ptilogenys''. Previously, all ''Gracula'' were considered to belong to a very variable species commonly called the hill myna. Three additional

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''G. religiosa'' are increasingly being considered as distinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Formerly, the Sri Lanka hill myna was considered to be a

of the common hill myna, but today all major authorities recognise them as separate. Comparably, the Enggano, Nias and southern hill mynas have traditionally been treated as subspecies of the common hill myna; a treatment still preferred by some authorities.

Species

Five extant

are recognized: A 2020 study found that the subspecies ''G. religiosa miotera'' or

Simeulue hill myna Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1754 square kilometres (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 censu ...

, which is endemic to

Simeulue Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1754 square kilometres (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census ...

, Indonesia and has not been recognized in recent taxonomic arrangements aside from HBW (''Handbook of the Birds of the World''), also likely represents a distinct species and was likely driven to extinction in the wild in the late 2010s due to unsustainable collecting for the

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

. The paper recommends rescuing the last genetically pure captive individuals for the purpose of

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that ...

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Gracula'': *

Magpie-lark The magpie-lark (''Grallina cyanoleuca''), also known as wee magpie, peewee, peewit or mudlark, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor and southern New Guinea. The male and female both have black and white plumage, though with different ...

(as ''Gracula picata'')

Description

These long birds have glossy black

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

and large white wing patches which are obvious in flight. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow or orange, and there are yellow wattles on the head, the shape and position of which vary with species. The sexes are similar, but juveniles have a duller bill.

Vocalisations

Hill mynas are renowned for their ability to mimic the human voice. It has been claimed that the hill mynah is the best

talking bird Talking birds are birds that can mimic the speech of humans. There is debate within the scientific community over whether some talking parrots also have some cognitive understanding of the language. Birds have varying degrees of talking ability: ...

and the best mimic in the world.

Distribution and habitat

This genus has representatives in tropical southern Asia from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia, and the common hill myna, a popular cage bird, has been introduced to the United States.

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The hill mynas are resident breeders typically found in forest and cultivation. The nest is built in a hole and the usual clutch is two or three eggs.

Food and feeding

Like most starlings, the hill mynas are fairly

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

, eating fruit, nectar and insects.

References

* *

External links

Russian page with identification drawings of hill myna taxa
{{Taxonbar, from=Q259424 Bird genera