Mynas, split from Red-vented Bulbul thread

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Neil Fitzgerald
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Mynas, split from Red-vented Bulbul thread

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Tue Nov 12, 2019 7:53 pm

[This thread has been split from viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8844]

Michael Szabo wrote:Both Red-vented Bulbul and Common Myna are invasive species known to chase and attack native birds. Common Myna is also known to remove chicks from nests and taking over the nest site. Both species are also known to predate on native skinks, geckos and insects.

Can you give references for myna? I'm always interested to see data on myna effects in NZ. NZBO mentions them taking out starlings, and I, like many others I'm sure, have seen that. No doubt they prey on some small native fauna, but data on their effects on populations of native species (birds, reptiles, or anything) would be very interesting.
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby SomesBirder » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:06 pm

I think that there was an article about the importance of eradicating mynas in an issue of the Forest & Bird magazine from one or two years ago. Note that the magazine hardly ever discusses the ecological impacts of non-native birds in New Zealand. The elimination of mynas probably needs to be taken seriously.
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:15 pm

SomesBirder wrote:The elimination of mynas probably needs to be taken seriously.

Based on..? Without evidence, it could just be a big distraction.
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby SomesBirder » Wed Nov 13, 2019 9:25 am

Neil Fitzgerald wrote:
SomesBirder wrote:The elimination of mynas probably needs to be taken seriously.

Based on..? Without evidence, it could just be a big distraction.

Surprisingly, this seems to be the only peer-reviewed article about the benefits of eradicating mynas in New Zealand:

http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=PC070202

Formal research isn't always required to assess the impacts of invasive species, though. We don't need to release stoats onto Mana Island to inform their impact on the mainland, for instance.
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:35 am

"They are fiercely territorial and use their superior numbers to aggressively defend their territory. During the breeding season they take over tree hollows from native birds and small animals (such as sugar gliders) after harassing and evicting them. They build and defend several nests during the breeding season although they only use one nest — this excludes native hollow nesting birds and animals from those nesting sites. They kill chicks and destroy the eggs of native birds."

Link to website: http://www.indianmynaaction.org.au/
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 13, 2019 11:00 am

I've seen a few Common Mynas on the Poor Knights Islands in recent years. I hope they don't establish/breed there because it is a stronghold for Red-crowned Kakariki.
Last edited by Michael Szabo on Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 13, 2019 11:05 am

There is an earlier thread on the invasive Common Myna for those with an interest:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1955&p=11367&hilit=Common+Myna+pest+species#p11367
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 13, 2019 11:12 am

Another earlier thread relevant to Common Mynas:
viewtopic.php?t=7625&p=36775
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The invasive Red-vented bulbul outcompetes native birds in a tropical biodiversity hotspot

Postby Michael Szabo » Wed Nov 13, 2019 11:24 am

The invasive Red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) outcompetes native birds in a tropical biodiversity hotspot
Thibault M, Vidal E, Potter MA, Sanchez T, Brescia F (2018). PLoS ONE 13(2).

"We used data from 2,472 point counts to explore the abundance relationships between the Red-vented bulbul and 14 other species of bird. Our results revealed a negative relationship between the occurrence of the bulbul and the mean abundance of nine species, all native (or endemic, n = 3) to the New Caledonia archipelago. In contrast, the abundance of other introduced species such as Acridotheres tristis (Common myna), Passer domesticus (House sparrow) and Spilopelia chinensis (Spotted dove) were not affected by the Red-vented bulbul. ... Enhanced monitoring of the range expansion of the RVB in New Caledonia and implementation of an effective management plan is required urgently. Whether the RVB is having similar impact on native species elsewhere in its exotic range should be investigated."

Link to study: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/artic ... ne.0192249
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Re: Red-vented Bulbul - Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell

Postby Colin Miskelly » Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:22 pm

This thread is mixing up two species, but responding to mynas on the Poor Knights...

There was at least one brood of fledglings on Aorangi in February 2013, but they are/were a minor component of the bird community there, and I doubt that control would be effective (as they would reinvade readily) or necessary. Mynas have been present on the islands for close to half a century (see Peter Gaze's note 'Mynas on the Poor Knights', Notornis 20 (1973): 166), and have barely gained a toe-hold in the presence of abundant bellbirds and red-crowned parakeets.

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Colin

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