Birds Around Me

The Common Myna (देसी मैना, गुलगुल) - Acridotheres tristis is readily identified by the brown body, black hooded head, and the bare yellow patch behind the eye. The bill and legs are bright yellow. There is a white patch on the outer primaries and the wing lining on the underside is white. The sexes are similar and birds are usually seen in pairs. Along with the sparrow, crow, and pigeon, Myna is comfortable around humans. A pair or two will usually adopt a house as their own and defend it vigorously against intrusion from others of their kind. But large numbers will collect to feed in harmony whether on earthworms on a freshly watered lawn, winged termites emerging from the rain-sodden ground, or on a fig-laden banyan or peepal tree. The birds commonly attend on grazing cattle for crickets and grasshoppers disturbed by animals' feet or follow the plow for the worms and grubs turned up with the soil, stalking jauntily alongside the bullocks, now side-hopping, now springing up in th