Common Hill Myna

The common hill myna is a starling found in the hills of South and Southeast Asia and a popular talking bird, about 29cm long, somewhat larger than the common myna. It is a stocky jet-black bird with green gloss, purple-tinged on the head and neck, bright orange-yellow naked skin and fleshy wattles on the sides of the head and nape, large white wing patches obvious in flight, and a bright yellow bill and legs (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is a resident breeder from Kumaon in India east through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, in the lower Himalayas, terai and foothills up to 2,000m. It is often detected by loud, shrill, descending whistles, and is most vocal at dawn and dusk. Dialects change quickly with distance, so birds more than 15km apart share no call-types. It is fairly omnivorous, and the usual clutch is two or three eggs.