Knowra Common hill myna Common hill myna The common hill myna (Gracula religiosa) is a large South and Southeast Asian starling with glossy black plumage, bright orange-yellow facial wattles, and a remarkable ability to imitate sounds, including human speech.
Sturnidae : Sturnidae is the bird family comprising starlings and mynas. The common hill myna belongs to this family of often social, vocal passerines.
Vocal learning : Vocal learning is the ability to modify vocal sounds by learning from auditory experience. It underlies the common hill myna’s ability to imitate sounds heard from people and its surroundings.
Animal cognition : Animal cognition is the study of mental processes such as learning, memory, and problem-solving in nonhuman animals. The myna’s learned imitations invite questions about learning without implying that mimicry equals human understanding.
Bali myna : The Bali myna is a critically endangered white starling native to Bali, Indonesia. Unlike the widespread, dark-plumaged common hill myna, it is a rare, white-plumaged island species.
Gracula : Gracula is a genus of Asian mynas in the starling family. This genus places the common hill myna among closely related hill mynas.
Birdsong : Birdsong is vocal behavior used by many birds in communication, often learned and produced in patterned sequences. The myna’s calls and imitations arise from vocal behavior, though speech mimicry is not human language.
Pet bird : A pet bird is a bird kept by people for companionship or enjoyment. Hill mynas have been kept for their vocal abilities, although captivity raises welfare and sourcing concerns.
Jungle myna : The jungle myna is a South Asian starling with a dark body and a prominent forehead tuft. It is a smaller, more terrestrial relative without the common hill myna’s distinctive facial wattles.
Southeast Asia : Southeast Asia is a region of mainland and island countries south of China and east of India. The common hill myna’s native range spans forests across this region and parts of South Asia.
Syrinx : The syrinx is the vocal organ of birds, located where the trachea branches into the bronchi. This organ produces the sounds that the myna shapes into calls and imitations.
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