- Title
- Opportunistic observations of travel distances in Common Mynas (Acridotheres tristis)
- Creator
- Peneaux, Chloé; Griffin, Andrea S.
- Relation
- Canberra Bird Notes Vol. 40, Issue 3, p. 228-234
- Publisher
- Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG)
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Understanding patterns and drivers of movement in invasive species is critically important to modelling their spread and evaluating their impact. The Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis according to http://www.worldbirdnames.org/, but recently proposed to be reclassified as Sturnus tristis, Christidis and Boles 2008) is an introduced commensal passerine which is expanding its range across the East coast of Australia. Aside a few published anecdotes of long distance travel, nothing is known about the spatial behaviour of mynas. Here, we report a series of opportunistic observations on the movement of translocated individuals in this species. These observations show that the Common Myna appears to have a strong homing instinct when it is translocated away from its home base and is capable of covering long distances (40 km). Homing occurs even when individuals have been held in captivity for a substantial amount of time. One can only assume that homing must be enabled by excellent navigation capabilities. We also noted that two long-term bonded pair of mynas remained together from capture, during captive holding and during post-release travel and were found within proximity of their original trapping location, with one pair known to be breeding. These observations confirm published reports that mynas form behaviourally monogamous, lifelong pair bonds.
- Subject
- common myna; travel patterns; behaviour; Australia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1319936
- Identifier
- uon:24012
- Identifier
- ISSN:0314-8211
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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