tus

ist 'b tio

n

BILLPRANT
8515VILLAGE
MILLROW
- BAYONET
POINT,
FLORIDA
34667(EMAIL:
BILLPRANTY@HOTMAILCOM)

Figure
1.Adult
Common
Myna
atSeven
Spngs,
Pasco
Count.
FIoda,
28Oober
. is photogrh
duments
oneofthenohemmo
cords
oftheCommon
Myna
inFIoda,
andthenohemmorecdTodaealong
e recently
colonized
Gulf
coast.
InaddiUon
er disUn
umagebrown
bo withblahead,
wings,
andtail,white
wingandtailpatches,
andyellow
softpCommort
Mynas
aredisUnguished
fromother
royhas
byeir cordingmannec
semi-,esalhabits,
andhabitat
preferees.
Usually,
asshown
here,
suitable
myna
habitat
inFIoda
comists
ofpainglots
ofshoing
centen
orfast-food
restaUghtS,
where
thebirds
searforFrenes,potai, orsimilar
fare.Photogrop
byKen
Tracey.

Abstract
Thispapersummarizes
theknownstatusand

nent,andeastthroughlndochina(Feareand flus,New Hebrides,and the Seychelles,

and
Craig1998).Twosubspecies
are recognized: elsewhere(Long 1981, Lever1987, A.O.U.

distribution in Florida of the exotic Common

melanosternus,
which is endemic to southern

1998, KannanandJames2001).

Myna(Atridotheres
tristis),focusing
particu- IndiaandSriLanka,andthewidespread
nomCommonMynaswerediscovered
in southlarly on the species'
rangeexpansion
in the inatesubspecies,
tristis,whichhasbeenwide- ernFloridaduringtheearly1980s.Sincethat
past25 yearsand on its currentpopulation ly introduced,
eitherintentionally
for insect time,the populationhasbeenexpanding
in
size.
control,or accidentallyfrom the pet trade rangeandincreasing
in numbers.
Thespecies
(Long1981,Lever1987).Exoticpopulations hasbeenignoredby ornithologists
andbirdof CommonMynasare now foundin Aus- ers in Floridaand so remainslargelyunBackground
CommonMyna(Acridotheres
tristis;Figure1) tralia,Florida,HongKong,Madagascar,
New known except for anecdotalinformation
is nativeto theCaspian
SearegionandKaza- Zealand, Polynesia,South Africa, island compiledfor thispaper.Therecentdiscovery
khstan,souththroughthe Indiansubconti- chainssuch as Hawaii, the Maidives,Mauri- of a roostof perhaps
400Common
Mynasat

658

NORTH

AMERICAN

BIRDS

STATUS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OF
COMMON
MYNA
INFLORIDA

Palm Beach
60

Mllee

Common Myna reportl

1982-1990
1991-1999

2000-2007

'

Boward

Florida
Cityroo=t
oo

MiamiDade

Figure
2.Distribution
oftheCommon
Myna
inFlorida,
1982-2007.
Most
locations
within
0.8kmofoneanother
are
combined.
Note
thatthemyna's
range
has
inceased
inextent
anddistance
from
Miami
during
each
eightornineyear
period.
Each
location
mapped
iscolored
according
totheearliest
report,
sothismap
should
notbeused
togauge
population
persistence.
The
area
shown
bounded
inredmay
beconsidered
asthelimits
oftheCommon
Myna's
currentcore
range.
There
isalso
arecent
report
ofanapparent
Common
Myna
atSapelo
Island.
Georgia
(see
text].

Figure
3.Distribution
ofCommon
Myna
along
thesouthern
Atlantic
coast
ofFlorida,
1982-2007.Mostlocations
within0.8 kmof oneanotherarecombined.
Eachlocation

mapped
iscolored
according
totheearliest
report,
sothismapshould
notbeused
to
gauge
population
persistence.
Amuch
greater
number
ofobservers
inMiami-de
relative
toBroward
andPalm
Beach
mayskew
theapparent
distribution
ofmynas
along
thesouthern
Atlantic
coast;
72%oftheobservations
fromthese
threecounties
arefromMimni-Oade.
Theareashown
bounded
inred(minimum
convex
polygon),
FloridaCity,alongwith recentobservationsFlorida representdispersers which
maybeconsidered
astheknown
limits
ofCommon
Myna's
current
core
range,
alongthecentralGulfcoast,rekindled
myin- from known populations i'smore
than1760km2Insize.
Thedistribution
ofmynas
within
thiscore
range
islikeI ex- lymuch
terestin thisspecies.
This papersummarizes ratherthanlocalescapees.
greater
thanwhatitshown
duetobirder
disinterest
andtraffic
congestion.
thelocation
oftheFlorida
Cityroost,
which
wasestimated
toconthepastquarter-century
of Floridarecords
of pressabundance
of mynason Theredstarmarks
400mynas
inNovember
2006.
Thescarcity
ofreported
observations
BirdCountysasthe tainabout
CommonMyna,its rangeexpansion,
andits Christmas
around
thisroost
isofinterest:
thereissurely
incomplete
information
ofmyna
range,
number of individuals
obcurrentpopulation
sizein thestate.
even
where
thebirds
aremost
numerous
andpresumably
most
widespread.

servedper 1000party-hours
to
takeadvantage
of wholenumbersof royhas. lantic coastin Palm Beach,Broward,and MiaI compiledobservations
of CommonMynas All countynamesare listed in parentheses mi-Dade(Figure3).
from the seasonal
bird reportspublished
in and italics,andsiteswhereroyhashavebred

Methods

Florida

Field

Naturalist

and American

are marked with an asterisk.

Summary
ofObservations

Birds/NorthAmerican Birds, from Stevenson

I have divided all observations of Common

and Anderson(1994), the FloridaBreeding Results

Mynasin Floridaintooneof threeperiodsof

nearlyequalduration:the first nine years
(1982-1990), the second nine years
(1991-1999),andthemostrecenteightyears

Bird Atlasproject(1986-1991; Kale et al. I compiled

275observations
of CommonMy1992), observations
postedto the threepri- nas in Florida since 1982. Of these, 171
formally;most
maryonlinebirdinglistsin Florida:BrdBrain, (62%)hadnotbeenpublished
FloridaBirds-L, and the Miami BirdBoard represented
recentpoststo onlinebirding
(T.A.S. 2007), and the ChristmasBird Count lists.All observations
represent
98 discrete
lo(C.B.C.) database(hAS 2007). Becausethe cations(Figure2). Overall,CommonMynas
CommonMynais a conspicuous
andunwary havebeenreported
in 20 counties
in Florida
tobreedin 13ofthese
semi-terrestrial
species
thatis closelyassoci- andhavebeenreported
atedwith areasof humandevelopment,
it is (Table1). All but one report,fromNeptune
usuallynoticed,even by nowcebirders.I Beach (Duval), are from the southern twomappedall locationsasspecifically
aspossi- thirdsof thepeninsula
or themainlineFloriby US-1).Thereis
ble,thenenteredthemintoa Geographic
In- da Keys(thosetraversed
formation
System
(GIS)coverage.
I combined alsoa recentreportfrom southernGeorgia
mostlocations
thatwerewithin0.8 kin. I pre- (seebelow).Thestronghold
of theCommon
sumethatall CommonMynaobservations
in Myna in Floridais alongthe southernAt-

VOLUUE

61

(2007)

HUUBER

(2000-2007).

1982-1990The publishedliteratureindicatesthat CommonMynaswere first observedin Floridaon the DadeCountyC.B.C.

(Miami-Dade) on 17 December1983 (Robert-

son and Woolfenden1992), and that they

were first observedbreedingat Homestead

(Miami-Dade)on 22 May 1985 (Stevenson
andAnderson1994).However,LarryManfredi (in litt.) first saw Common Mynas at
Hialeah(Miami-Dade)
in 1982,by whichtime

659

ISTATS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OF
COMMON
MYN-IN
FLORIDA

Figure
4.Common
Mynas
reported
onChristmas
Bird
Counts
inFlorida,
from
the84th(1983-1984) Figure
5.Chronology
ofactive
Common
Myna
nests
inFlorida
withknown
dates,
1982-2007
through
107th
(2006-2007)
C.B.C.
periods.
Numbers
ofroyhas
aegraphed
per1000party-hunrs
to (n=17)
byhalf-menth
intervals.
Oates
refer
totheearliest
sign
ofnesting
activity.
takeadvantage
ofwhale
numbers
ofbirds.

they were alreadybreeding.Within a few *EvergladesCity (Collier) in 19897, and was 16 birdsat Tequesta
in November1986
(Athertonand Atherton 1987).
yearsof theirdiscovery,
mynashaddispersed Ochopee(Collier)in 1990(Table1).
to near Belle Glade (Palm Beach) in 1984,
Thuswithinnineyearsof theirdiscovery
EvergladesNational Park, *Homestead, in Florida,CommonMynashad colonized 1991-1999--Common Mynas colonized
*Kendall, and *Miami (all Miami-Dade) in

seven counties (Brevard, Broward, Collier,

1985,Tequesta
(PalmBeach)in 1986,*Cocoa Hendry, Martin, Miami-Dade, and Palm
Beach (Brevard) in 1987, *Clewiston
Beach),with breedingconfirmedin six of
(Hendry)in 1988,nearIndiantown(Martin), these(all but Martin;Table1). The highest
near *Pembroke Pines (Broward), and at
countof royhasobtainedduring1982-1990

*West PalmBeach(PalmBeach)in 1991, Stuart (Martin) in 1992, *1ona (Lee) in 1993, and

*Hollywood(Broward),
theMiccosukee
Indian Reservation (Miami-Dade),

and near

JonathanDickinsonState Park (Martin or

Figures
6 and7.Two
examples
ofCommon
Myna
nests
inFlorida.
Mynas
build
theirnests"in
anyplace
thatwillhold
a large
pileofleaves,
twigs,
paper,
andthelike"(Kannan
andJames
2001).
inFlorida,
onenest
wasplaced
inthecrotch
ofa Black
Olive,
while
others
have
been
builtincavities
inwooden
utility
poles
oniches
instreet
lights.
Perhaps
most
Common
Myna
nests
inFlorida
arebuiltwithin
lettersoflogos
attached
tocommercial
buildings.
These
twonests
werebuiltwithin
lettering
ofPublix
supermarkets,
inthe"d"of"food"
andthe"c"of"pharmacy;'
respectively.
Theimage
atleftshows
a
nest
withthree
nestlings,
fromKendall,
Miami-Dade
County,
1June
2002,
withtheimage
atright,
ofanoccupied
nest
withunknown
contents,
fromPompano
Beach,
Broward
County,
21July
2007.Photographs
byJohn
H.Boyd
andBilIPranty,
respectively.

660

NORTH

AMERICAN

BIRDS

STATUS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OF
COMMON
MYNAN
FLORID

Range
expansion
Sincetheearly1980s,CommonMynashave
exhibiteda nearlycontinuousseriesof dispersaleventsoutwardin nearlyall directions
fromMiami-Dare.Ihese dispersals
continue
to consolidate
the myna'srangealongthe
southern Atlantic coast and to result in new

colonization
of areasinland,alongthemainlineKeys,theGulfcoast,andnorthalongthe
Atlanticcoast.Eachof thethreetemporal
periodslistedabovedocuments
an increasing
number of counties colonized, from seven

during 1982-1990, 11 during 1991-1999,

and 18during2000-2007.Between1982and
2007, CommonMynashadbeenobserved
in
20 countiesin Florida--plusone countyin
Georgia--withall but Collierand Martinoccupiedduring2000-2007.

Georgia
report
Because
a recentreportof an apparentCommonMynain Georgiawasnot mentioned
by
Davis(2002)andwasreportedtoolateforinclusion in Beatonet al. (2003), I include it
Figure
8.Aflock
ofatleast
188Common
Mynas
atFlorida
City,
Miami-Dade
County,
Florida,
DATE.
Therecent
discovery
ofacommunalroost
ofperhaps
400Common
Mynas
atFlorida
CityinNovember
2006provided
lhefirstproof
thatthemyna
population
inFloridanumbers
atleast
inthehundreds
ofindividuals.
Photograph
bIrrxManfredi.

Palm Beach) in 1995. Common Mynas

Key Biscayne(Miami-Dade)in 2004, and

HolmesBeach(Mariatee)and LakeApopka
da and *Key West(both Monroe)in 1997, Restoration
Area (Orange)in 2005. Mynas
Golden Gate Estates (Collier) in 1998, and
thencolonized
otherareasalongthe central
(Pinelias)and
*PompanoBeach(Broward),
Sebastian
(Indi- Gulf coast,at St. Petersburg
an River), and *Sanford (Seminole)in 1999 SevenSprings
(Pasco)in 2006,and Clearwareached*Fort Pierce(St. Lucie)and lslamora-

(Iable 1). Ihe Sanford site marked the north-

ernmostbreedingsite in Florida,approximately350km north-northwest

of Miami.
During their secondnine-yearperiodin
Florida,CommonMynasoccupied11 counties (Brevard,Broward,Collier,Hendry,Lee,
Martin, Miami-Dare, Monroe,Palm Beach,St.

Lucie,andSeminole),
withbreeding
in eightof
these (all but Brevard,Collier, and Martin).

Mynasbecame
extirpated
fromthreecounties
(Brevard,Collier [1991 and 1998], and Mar-

tin), they recolonizedone county (Collier

[19991),and theycolonized
fournewcounties (Lee, Monroe, St. Lucie, and Seminole).

ter (Pinelias) and *Port Charlotte (Charlotte)

in 2007 (Iable 1). Ihe NeptuneBeachmyna

was more than 500 km from Miami. Even

more significantly,
it accompanied
two or
threeEuropeanStarlings(Sturnusvulgaris)
intoa supermarket
sign1 May2004andwas
observedfeedinga juvenile starlingseven
dayslater(Pranty2004a).Nonetheless,
1 do
notconsider
thesebehaviors
torepresent
contimed breeding;KannanandJames(2001)
list two otherobservations
of CommonMynasfeedingtheyoungof othersturnids.
Bytheendof 2007,Common
Mynasoccupied partsof 18 counties(Brevard,
Broward,
Charlotte,
Duvol,Hendry,
Highlands,
IndianRiver,Lee,Manatee,
Miami-Dare,
Monroe,
Orange,

Ihe highestcountof mynasobtained

during
1991-1999was22 birdson theDadeCounty
PalmBeach,Pasco,Pinelias,St. Lucie,Seminole,
C.B.C.in December1994(Cooper1995).
andVolusia),
withbreeding
in 11 of these(all
2000-2007--CommonMynascolonized
De- but Brevard,Duval,Martatee,Orange,Pasco,
and Volasia).
Mynasrecolonized
one
Land(Volusia),
Boynton
Beach(PalmBeach), Pinelias,
and Flamingo, EvergladesNational Park county(Brevard)
and colonizedsevenothers
(Monroe)in 2000, *Lake Placid(Highlands) (Charlotte,Duval, Mariatee,Orange,Pasco,
in 2001, the Ien Ihousand IslandsC.B_C.cirPinelias,
andVolasia)_
Ihe highest
countofmycle (Collier) in 2002, *Goodwin Marsh Wanasobtained
during2000-2007wasa commuter[owlManagement
Area(Brevard
andIndian nalroostof perhaps
400at FloridaCity (Mia2006(Pranty1007a).
River)in 2003, NeptuneBeach(Duva/)and mi-Dare)in November

VOLUME

61

(2007)

NUMBER

here.On 11May2002,twoobservers
noted
mostunusual
bird"at theferryparkinglot on
SapeloIsland(Mcintosh)
about80 km northof
the Georgia/Florida
border.The birdwasdescribedby Cohrs(2002)as"... a littlesmaller
thana BlueJay,
it wasmostlyblackwitha yellowpointybeakandhadyelloweyeringand
a yellowspotbehindthe eye.When flying,
therewasa white flashon the wing [thatl
showedup asa whitestreakon thesidewhen
sitting.The breastwasrobin-orange.
The legs
wereyellow.The tailwaswedgeshaped
with
whiteedging[andl ... lookedlike an arrowhead.Thebirdwalkedasopposed
tohopping.
Posture
wasfairlyerect."Thisdescription
of a
"mostly black" body and "robin-orange"
breastare incorrectfor CommonMyna,but
therestof thedescriptions
of plumage,
habitat,andbehavior
accord
wellwiththespecies.
Indeed,theyellowsoftparts,whitewingand
tail patches,and terrestrialfeedinghabits
pointtoanAcridotheres
myna,andnoneof the
world10 species
of Acridotheres
mynashas
anorangebreast(FeareandCraig1998).1believethattheSapeloIslandmynawasa CommonMyna.and,coupledwith its locationon
a largelyuninhabited
harrierisland,wasmore
likelytohavebeena disperser
fromoneof the
Floridapopulations
thana localescapee.

Population
size
Whilethesizeof theCommonMynapopulation in Florida is unknown, it numbersin the
several hundreds of individuals at least. The

discovery
in November2006 of the Florida
City roostthatcontained
perhaps400 mynas

661

JSTATUS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OF
COMMON
MYNA
INFLORIDA

(Pranty 2007a) verified

Table
1.Distribution
ofCommon
Mynas
inFlorida
bycounty.
Mynas
have
been
observed
in20ofFlorida's
67counties
and
have
bred
in13ofthese.
e Panhanthat the current myna
dleistheonly
region
notyetknown
tobecolonized
bymynas.
Infrequent
reports
doud
thecurrent
status
ofsome
breeding
populations
(i.e.,
those
inIndian
population in Florida
River,
St.Lucie,
andSeminole),
which
arehere
considered
tobeextirpated
butthatmay
beextant
butrecently
unreported
ornotobserved.
numbers in the hundreds

County

Duration

Breeding
status

Comments

of individuals(e.g., Fig-

Rrevard

1987-1991,2003-2005Extirpated

Single
pairs
atCocoa
Beach
andalong
thelndian
River
line

Broward

1999-present

Fairly
widespread

Current

ure 8). It should be noted

that the location of this
roost

OnepairatPort
Charlotte

is far from

the

Charlone 2007

Current

Collier

1984 1990,1998

Extirpatod

mappedlocations
ofmost
Single
pairs
(?)atEverglades
City
andGolden
Gate
Estates,
andonebirdatOchopee
mynas,even thoseelse-

Ouval

2004

No

Onebird
atNeptune
Beach

where

HeMry

1988-present

Current

Upto8birds
atClewiston

(Figure 3), suggesting

Highlands 2001,
2002

Extirpated

One
pairatLake
Placid
andonebirdnear
there

Indian
River 2000,
2003-2005

Extirpated

One
pairalong
theRrevardline

in Miami-Dade

that numerous locations

occupied by Common
Mynasin theregionhave
not beenreported.

Lee

1993-1997,
2005-2007 Current

Monatee

2005-2006

No

Two
orthree
pairs
atFort
Myers
Onebirdat Holmes
Beach

Martin

198__,
1992-1995

No

Onepairnear
Indiantown

Miami-Dado
1982-present

Current

Widespread;
most
ofperhaps
400atFlorida
City

Monroe

1997-present

Current

Fairly
widespread
along
mainline
Keys;
none
onthemainland

Orange

2005

No

One
birdatLake
Apopka

size of the local myna

populations in Florida

Palm
Reach 1984,1986,1999-present
Current

Fairly
widespread

make it difficult to docu-

Pasco

2006

No

OnebirdatSeven
Springs

ment overallpopulation

Pine#as

2006,
2007

No

Singles
atClearwater
andStPetersburg

sources of data are avail-

St.Lucie

1997-2002

Extirpated

One
pairatFort
Pierce

able.The first is simply

.Population
Increase

The limited data on the

trends. However, two

the highest number of

mynas reportedat any
onesiteduringthe three
temporalperiods:16durTable
2.Common
Mynas
onallFlorida
Christmas
Bird
Counts
(C.B.C
s)between
the84th(1983-1984)
and107th
(2006-2007)
count
periods.
Vertical ing 1982-1990,22 durlines
separate
thethree
temporal
periods
(1982-1990,1991-1999,
and2000-2007)
used
inthispaper.
A"O"(zero)
indicates
thatnomynas
were
seen;
ing 1991-1999,and per"nc"denotes
thatnoC.B.C.
was
conducted,
and"cw"denotes
thatoneormore
mynas
were
seen
during
count
week
butnotoncount
day.
Count
names
(abbreviated)
andthecounties
inwhich
they
arelocated
areasfollows:
CO=Cocoa
(Brevard);
OC=Dade
County
(Miami-Dare);
FP=Fort
Pierce
(St.Lucie); haps 400 during 20002007 (Table 1). A better
JD=
Jonathan
Dickinson
State
Park
(Martin
and
Palm
Beach);
KA=Kendall
Area
(Miami-Dare);
KL=Key
Largo-Plantation
Key
(Monroe);
KW=Key
West
(Monroe);
RP=Royal
Palm-Homestead
(Miami-Dore);
SB=South
Brevard
County
(Brevard
andIndian
River);
ST=Stuart
(Martin);1-l'=Ten
lousand
Islandsindex for gaugingpopu(Collier);
and
WP=West
Palm
Beach
(Palm
Beach).
*The
2royhas
ontheCocoa
C.B.C.
during
the91st
count
period
were
listed
asCrested
Mynas.
However, lation growth is the
given
thatCrested
Myna
hadnever
previously
been
reported
outside
oftheMiami
area,
and
further
considering
thatCommon
Mynas
hadbeen
observed C.B.C. database (NAS
atCocoa
Beach
(within
theCocoa
C.B.C.
circle)
between
1987
and1993,
itseems
clear
thatthese"Crested
Mynas"
were
misJdenrified
Common
Mynas.
2007). C.B.C. data sho
Semiole 1999-2002

Extirpated

One
pair
(?)atSanford

Volusia

No

Onebirdat DeLand

2001

Source
ofalldata:
theonline
C.B.C.
database
(NAS
2007).

a dramatic increase in the

CB.C. 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 1041105106 107 numberof CommonMyCO

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2*
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
has reportedper partyhour beginningwith the
DC
6
0
2
2
2
0
0
7
2
0
2
22 19 5
10 22 12 14 30 33 39 84 27 13
FP

nc

nc

nc

cw

JO

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

98th countperiod(Figure 4). These data also

show a nearly equally

dramaticdecrease
beginning with the 106th
count period, but this
"decline"
is thoughtto be

KA

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

19

nc

KL

11

KW

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

RP

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

cw

14

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

the result of inconsistent

SB

surveyingon Christmas
Bird Countysin Miami-

ST

rr

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

nc

wP

# CBCs

Non-OC

11

21

13

19

12

16

27

11

17

OC

22

19

10

22

12

14

30

33

39

84

27

13

662

NORTH

Dade (seeDiscussion).

Population
persistence
Common Mynas have
persisted--indeed,they
have thrived

in Miami-

AMERICAN

BIRDS

STATUS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OFCOMMON
MYNA
INFLORIDA'

Dade since their discov-

eryin 1982(Table1), and

theyhaveexpanded
their
range northward into

Table
3.All
known
breeding
observations
ofCommon
Mynas
inFlorida
(n=42).
Because
royhas
nest
almost
exclusively
incavities,
the
nest
contents
are
rarely
observed.
As
aresult,
most
observations
ofnests
inFlorida
are
ofoccupied
nests:
adults
observed
entering
orleaving
acavity
orniche.
County

Locatien

Oate(s)

Broward and Palm Beach

BrowardFort
Lauderdale
12Nov
2001

(Figure 3). Although

BrowardOakland
Park 3Apr
2007

some colonization events

failedto producestable Broward

Parkland
17
Sep
2004
populations,
evenwhere
BrowardPembroke
Pines18r 2007
breedingoccurred(e.g.,
Broward
Pompano
Beach
May1999
Everglades
CityandLake

Substrate

Status

Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Pranty
2002b
?
Pair
with
nesting
material T.Eakins
toBirdBoard

Family;
occupied
nest
Traffic
light observed
earlier

Building
signage
Building
anest
Buildingsignage
Two
occupied
nests
Placid), other coloniza- BrowardPompano
Beach
21Jul2007 Buildingsignage
Occupied
nest
tions have succeeded, BrowardSunrise 5Jan
2002
?
2adults
and
1juvenile
and some areas have been
Charlotte
Port
Charlotte
18-20
y 2007 Building
signage
Occupied
nest
repeatedly colonized
Hendry Clewiston-1988
Street
light Occupied
nest
(e.g.,Brevard,
Collier,and
1995
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Lee). Furthermore, the Hendry Clewiston19Jun
1999
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Miami-Dadepopulation Hendry Clewiston 7Jun
survived the effects of
Hendry Clewiston13Aug
2000
Building
signage
Nest
with
>_2
nestlings
Hurricane Andrew, a CatHendry Clewiston 2001
Sign
cavity Occupied
nest
egory4 stormthat devasHendry Clewiston1Nov
2003
?
Flock
with
2juveniles
tated the Homestead area
2004
Street
light Occupied
nest
in August 1992. Smith Hendry Clewiston8Aug
Lake
Placid 2002?
Street
light Nestling
onground
(in Pranty1995) stated Highlands
that the CommonMyna Lee
Fort
Myers 6May2007 Building
signage
Occupied
nest

populationwas "serious-

ly impacted"
by Andrew Lee
Iona
6y 1994
but had recoveredby
spring1995.The Clewis- Miami-Dade
CoconutGrove
Jun2005
ton populationhas per- Miami-Dade
Coral
Gables Mar
2003
sistedfor 20 years(Table
Miami-Dade
Hialeah
1982
1), and it represents
the
Hialeah Spring1985
most persistentpopula- Miami-Dade
tion outside of MiamiMJami-Dade
Homestead22May
1985

Breedin
observations
Common Mynas have
beenbreeding
in Florida
since1982,and breeding
reports exist from 13
counties.

Each

of the

temporalperiods listed
above documents an in-

creasing
numberof counties in which breeding
has occurred, from six

during1982-1990,eight
during 1991-1999, and
11 during2000-2007. I
havecompiled
a listof42
observations
of breeding
by CommonMynas in
Florida(Table3), repre-

"Paul"to
BirdBoard
D.Humescort
toFloridaBirds-L
Pranty1999
Figure7
G.Feuss
toFldridaBirds-L
Pranty
2007b
J.Orsenigo
inlitt.
Pranty
1996
P.Bowen
inlitt.
Pranty
2001b
D.Humeston
inlitt.
Pranty
2004b
B.Pranty
pets.
obs.
ELohrer
inlitt.
Pranty
2007b;
G.Hampton
toFloridirds-L

One
adult
with
afledgling
while

the
other
adult
was
incubating
Pranty
1994
anapparent
second
brood

Buildingsignage
Occupied
nest

Black
olive Occupied
nest
Buildingsignage
Occupied
nest
Buildingsignage
Occupied
nest
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
31y-2 Jun
2002Building
signage
Nest
with
>_3
nestlings

Dade.

Reference

Miami-Dade
Kendall
Miami-Dade
Miami
Shores2003
Light
pole
cavity
Occupied
nest
Miami-Dade
Miami
ShoresJul
2004
light
pole
cavity
Occupied
nest
Miami-Dade
Miami
Shores13Aug2005
Pair
with
one
juvenile
Miami-Dade
Penine
annually
1995-2006
Building
signage
Occupied
nests
Miami-Dade
Pinecrest
Ught
pole
cavityOccupied
nest
Miami-Dade
Westwood
Lakeca.1999
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Miami-Dade
West
Kendall10Apr
2004
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Monroe Islamorada17Aug2002 Light
pole
cavityNest
with
nestlings
Monroe KeyWest 26Jun
2000
Power
pole
cavity
Occupied
nest
Monroe KeyWest 24Mar
2001
Power
pole
cavity
Occupied
nest
Monroe Key
West 31Jul
2001
?
Pair
and
5juveniles
Palm
Beach
Tequesta?8May
1988
?
Pair
feeding
young
St.Lucie Fort
Pierce 11May
1997
Building
signage
Nest
with
2nestlings
St.Lucie Fort
Pierce May
1998
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
St.Lucie Fort
Pierce 1999
Building
signage
Occupied
nest
Seminole
Sanford 24-31
Mar
2002 Sign
pole
cavityOccupied
nest

S.BenedettotoBrdBrain

R.Diaz
inlitt.
L.Manfrediinlitt.
Kale1985
Kale
1985,
Stevenson
and
Anderson
1994
Figure
6

A.Harper
toBirdBoard
A.Harper
toBirdBoard
A.Harper
toBirdBoard
T.Mitchellto
BirdBoard
LManfredJto
BirdBoard
S.Paez
inlitt.
P.Bithorn
toBirdBoard
Lnfredi
toFloridaBirds-L

Pranty
2001c
Pranty
2001d
Pranty
2002c
Langridge
1988,
Stevenson
and
Anderson
1994
Pranty
1997
Pranty
1998
J.Brooks
inlitt.
Pranty
2002d;
M.Wilson
toFloridabirds-L

senting
nest-building
activities
(2), active cupled
nests,
where
oneorbothadults
was have
been
placed
inartificial
structures
(Table
nests
(33),orfledged
young
orjuveniles
(5). seen
toenter
acavity
intowhich
material
had 3).Some
myna
nests
werelocated
incavities
Because
most
nests
areplaced
in cavities
or been
placed.
Except
foronenestin Miami- inutility
poles
orniches
instreet
lights
while
niches,
feweggs
ornestlings
have
been
ob- Dade
thatwas
placed
inthecrotch
ofaBlackothers
were
builtwithin
letters
oflogos
atserved.
Most
breeding
observations
areofoc- Olive(Bucida
buceras),
allnests
in Floridatached
tocommercial
buildings
(e.g.,
Figures

VOLUME61 (2007)

NUMBER4

663

JSTATUS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
OF
COMMON
MYNA
INFLORIDA

6 and 7). Active nestswith known substrates

veys(J.Boyd,in litt.). Thispaperwouldnot

existwithoutthedozensof observations
postedto thethreeprimaryonlinebirdinglistsin
Florida--especially
theMiamiBirdBoard.
Observerbias may influence.the numberof
nests in Florida with known dates (n=17) myna reportsin Miami-Daderelative to
ranges
from24 Marchto 17August,withone Broward
or PalmBeach,
whicheachhavevery
potentiallyanomalousactivenest (video- few residentbirders;72% (120 of 167) of the

(n=34) represented
building signage(22;
64%),cavityin woodenutilitypole(6; 17%),
nichein streetlight(5; 14%),andtree(1; 2%;
Table3). The temporaldistribution
of active

taped;
pets.obs.)on12November
(Figure5).
Most nests (9 of 17; 52%) were active from

earlyMay throughlateJune,whileall nests

but onewereactivefromlateMarchthrough
late August(Figure5). Double-brooding
has
beenobserved
oncein Florida(Pranty1994,

Table3) butlikelyoccursoften(andperhaps
regularly);
threebroods
areraisedannually
in
the countries of the former Soviet Union

(Kannanand James2001). A much larger

sampleof CommonMynanestsfromFlorida
undoubtedly
will clarifytheprimarybreeding
season
andtheaverage
numberofbroods
producedannually
by eachbreeding
pair.

donot consider
the mynato represent
a senousthreatto nativespeciesor ecosystems
or
to human health or commerce in the state.

Numbersof mynason the DadeCounty

C.B.C.haverangedfrom5 to 39 birdssince
the95thcountperiod,excepting
the84 mynastalliedduringthe 105thC.B.C.(Table2)
This single figure greatlyinfluencedthe
observations in these three counties are from
C.B.C.resultsduringthe 105thcountperiod
Miami-Dade.
Despitethispotentialgeograph- (Figure4). The numbersof mynasreported
icalbias,the temporalpatternof mynaex- on the 10 C.B.C. circles outside of Miampansionis well documented.
With the excep- Dade are far more consistent: 0 durtion of CocoaBeach,which was colonizedin ing1982-1990,2-11 during1991-1999,and
1987, all sitesnorth of Lake Okeechobeehave 11-27during2000-2006(Table2). Although
been colonizedsince1997, most since2000 C.B.C.dataarevaluablein documenting
the
(Table1, Figure2). Mynasobserved
far from long-term
trendin theCommon
Mynapoputheircorerangewerereported
at Sanford
in lationin southernFlorida(Figure4), short1999,DeLandin 2000,Sapdolsland,Georgia termtrendsmaybebiasedby thenumbers
of
from one or
in 2002,Jacksonville
in 2004,LakeApopkain mynasobservedor overlooked
2005,andalongthecentralGulfcoastbegin- two key C.B.C. circles.Unfortunately,
the
ning in 2005.
RoyalPalm-Homestead
C.B.C.wasdiscontinBates and Busenbark (1970) claimed that

ued in December2002; this C.B.C. circle

importation
ofanyspecies
ofAcridotheres
into wouldhaveincludedtherecentlydiscovered
ChristmasBirdCountTrends
theUnitedStateswasillegal.If correct,then Florida City roost. Even if the declinein
CommonMynashavebeenreportedon 12 this restriction must have been lifted at some CommonMyna numbersduringthe two
Christmas Bird Counts in Florida since the
point--the Floridapopulationhad to have mostrecentC.B.C.periods(Figure4) is accuof
84th C.B.C.period(1983-1984).Theyhave begunfrombirdsintentionally
importedinto rate,C.B.C.dataclearlyshowthatnumbers
been seen on nearly every Dade County thestateandthattheneitherescaped
or were mynasobserved
per C.B.C.party-hour
since
C.B.C.(Miami-Dade)
sincethe84thcountpe- released.Small (1994, in KannanandJames the98thperiod(9.51,range5.1-23.5)hasinriod and on all but one West Palm Beach
2001) statedthat CommonMynaswereone creased
morethan 1300%overmynanumC.B.C.(PalmBeach)
sincethe92ndcountpe- of themostfrequendy
observed
exoticbirds bersperparty-hour
fortheprevious
15C.B.C
riod (Table2). The numberof Florida counts in California.DuringNovember2007,sever- periods(0.71,range0-1.8). Graphed
by the
with CommonMynashasincreased
fromone al onlinevendors,
includingthreein Florida, threetemporal
periods
usedelsewhere
in this
throughthe 1980sto fouror five countsan- offeredto sellCommonMynasatpricesrang- paper,the numbersof mynasobservedin
nuallyin recentyears(Table2). An analysis
of ing between $200-500 each (e.g., Floridaper 1000C.B.C.party-hours
are0.31
Despitetheir (range0-1.4) during1982-1990,2.23(range
Common
Mynasreported
on Floridacounts <www.softbillsforsale.com>).
perparty-hour
(Figure4) yieldsinteresting-- presencein aviculture,CommonMynascan- 0.4-6.5)during1991-1999,and10.36(range
and perhapsmisleading--results.
After re- not possibly
escape
sofrequently
asto drive (5.1-23.5)during2000-2007.
in
The rangeof CommonMynasin Floridas
mainingrelativelystableat 0-2 mynasper the patternof numbersand distribution
1000hoursduringtheirfirst13 C.B.C.peri- Florida(Figures2-4). I believethat the in- extensive
andincreasing,
encompassing
parts
since2000(Figure2). A miniods (84th-96th),the numberof mynasin- creasein the CommonMyna populationin of 18 counties
creasedsteadilyand perhapsexponentially Floridaoverthepast20+yearsislargelyif not mumconvexpolygondrawnaroundthebulk
over the next nine count periods exclusively
the resultof successful
breeding of recentmynaobservations
in Broward,
Mia(97th-105th)to peakat 24 mynasper 1000 of birdsoutsideof captivity
mi-Dade,and PalmBeachapproaches
1760
party-hours
duringthe 105thperiod(Figure
Thereis a reportof CommonMynasevict- km
2 ofmostly
suitable
habitats
(Figure
3)
4). Themynapopulation
thenappears
to de- ingPurpleMartins(Progne
subis)froma mar- Although
theunpredictable
historyof exotic
clinedramatically
to 5 mynasper 1000party- tin house somewhere in Florida in the mid- or bird populationsin Florida (e.g., Pranty
late 1980s (Neville 1988, 1992), but this re- 2001a, 2002a) should make one hesitant
hoursby the 107thcountperiod(Figure4).
portis seemingly
theonlysuchobservation
in aboutpredicting
thelong-term
trends
ofparDiscussion
thestate.In fact,I amnotawareof anotherob- ticular species,at the presenttime, there
Littleinformation
hasappeared
in thelitera- servation
describing
CommonMynasinter- seems
littlereasonto doubtthatrangeexpantureon Common
Mynasin Florida.Between actingwithanynativespecies
in Florida.Else- sionof CommonMynasin Floridawill con1984 and 1999, only 14 observations
were where,CommonMynashavebeenlaudedas tinue.In January2008,theFloridaOrnithofor seed-dispersal,
pollination,
andin- logicalSocietyRecordsCommitteevoted
publishedin AmericanBirds,with nine of agents
theseduring1984-1987.An overalldisinter- sectcontrol,
andblamedfordepredating
crops unanimously
to acceptthe CommonMynaas
estin "uncountable"
exoticsby birdersand andtheeggsandyoungofotherbirds,andfor an established
exoticspecies(A.W.Kratter,
in urbanareas(Kannanand pets.comm.).
ornithologists
hasplayedaprimaryrolein the beinga nuisance
scarcity
of published
reports.Trafficconges- James2001). The CommonMyna'shabitat
tton in the Miami metropolitanareahasalso preferences
in Floridaexcludecontactwith Acknowledgments
playeda rolein thelackof formalmynasur- mostnativespeciesand agriculturalareas;1 I thankall whodirectlyor indirectly
submit-

664

NORTH

AMERICAN

BIRDS

STATUS
ANli-DI-STRIBUTION-i)F
COMMON
MYNA
INFLORIDA

ralist 30: ]43-]50.

ted theirmynaobservations,
especially
John
Floridaregion[Spring1988report]
American Birds 42: 424-426.
Boyd,Robin Diaz, and Larry Manfredi. I
--. 2004a.Fieldobservations
springreport:
thank E William Smith and Larry Manfredi Lever,C. 1987.Naturalized
BirdsoftheWorld March-May2004. FloridaFieldNaturalist
32: 153-162.
forattempting
to setup formalmynasurveys LongmanScientificand Technical,New
York
in Floridain the past.Gift Beatonprovided
--.
2004b. Field observations
fall report:
informauonaboutthe SapeloIslandmyna. Long,J. L. 1981.Introduced
BirdsoftheWorld August-November
2003.FloridaFieldNaturalist 32: 63-74.
The manuscript
wasimprovedby comments ReedProprietary,
Sydney.
fromBruceAnderson,Mark Berney,
andJon NationalAudubonSociety[N.A.S.]. 2007
. 2007a. Field observations
fall report:
Greenlaw.
The Christmas
Bird Count database
August-November
2006.FloridaFieldNaturalist 35: 60-72.
<www.audubon.org/bird/cbc>.
Accessed
26
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November 2007
2007b. Field observations
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aviport:March-May2007.FloridaFieldNaturalist35: in press.
1998. TheAnerican
Ornithologists'
Unionk
faunaofDadeCounty
Manuscript
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ofNorthAmerican
Birds.Seventh Neville, B. 1992. CommonMyna account Robertson, W. B., and G. E. Woolfenden.
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TheAtlasoftheBreeding
BirdsofFlorida(H.
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An Annotated
Washington,
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W. Kale,B. Pranty,B. M. Stith,and C. W.
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Notes 49: 541-542.

2001a.TheBudgerigar
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NorthAmer-

Davis,R. 2002. Thespringmigration:

SouthernAtlanticCoastregion[Spring2002report[.NortltAmerican
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Feare,C., andA. Craig.1998.Starlings
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<http://www.
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Accessed 8 October 2007.

Kale.H.W. 1985.Thespringmigration:
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ican Birds 55: 389-397

. 200lb. Field observations

fall report:
August-November
2000.FloridaFieldNat--.

2001c. Field observations summer re-

port:June-July
2000.FloridaFieldNaturalist 29: 33-40.

29: 130-141.

--.

2002a.

The use of Christmas

Bird

--.

North America, No. 583 (A. Poole and E

Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America,

(2007)

NUMBER

as wel.l.as birding
products and
equipment.
For rates and information,

go to the ABA website at

www.aba.org/netconnectJons

2002c. Field observations summer re-

port:June-July
2001.FloridaFieldNaturalist 30: 11-19

--.
2002d. Field observations
springreInc.,Washington,
D.C.
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H. E 1988.The springmigraion: port:March-May2002FloridaFieldNatu-

61

and destinations

uralist 30: 65-76

Kannan,R., and D.A. James.2001. Common

VOLUME

The ABA's online

birder resource

to travel. companies

--. 2001d.Fieldobservations
springreport:
March-May2001FloridaFieldNaturalist

Kale,H. W..,B. Pranty,

B. M. Stith,andC. W.
Countdatatomonitorpopulations
ofexotic birds American Birds 56: 24-28.
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2002b. Field observations
fall report:
of Florida.<http://www.
myfwc.com/bba>.--.
Accessed 11 November 2007.
August-November
2001.FloridaFieldNatMyna (Acridotheres
tristis).The Birdsof

COH CTIO

uralist 29: 60-74.

Arneiiai'Birding
www.aba.org

665