The common mynah bird was introduced to Hawaii in 1865 to control an infestation army worms. You will find them everywhere. They are relatively unappreciated by Hawaii local residents as evidenced by its Hawaiian names: piha `ekelo (full of voice) and manu`aipilau (trash-eating bird).
According to ornithologist E.L. Caum:
“The mynah is a perky, self-confident, pugnacious, and noisy bird, in many of its actions and antics disconcertingly human. It is gregarious, and the large flocks that gather at roosting time are most noisy and quarrelsome. It is omnivorous in its tastes, eating house scraps, fruit, grain, insects, and grubs of all kinds…. Everything considered, although it must be admitted that the mynah can be and frequently is a nuisance, an impartial observer would be forced to the conclusion that the bird’s advantages to the islands are popularly decidedly underrated, while its disadvantages are overemphasized.”
Maralee





Attractive bird, beautiful pictures.
Beautiful captures!
Great photos, Maralee. Sadly, this bird is a pest in Australia also. Originally introduced in North Queensland to help control insects in the sugar cane, it has spread widely in Eastern Australia, at the expense of some of our native species 😦