lirralirra

There’s a miner versus myna muddle that can be a bit confusing in parts of Australia.

Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)
Canon 5D3, 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 500, focal length 400mm

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I sometimes hear people confuse Noisy Miners and Common Mynas, which is understandable as their looks and behaviours do have similarities.

The Noisy Miner, above and below, is a native honeyeater that ranges in size from 24-27cm. Noisy Miners are found in Tasmania and across the eastern mainland from South Australia to northern Queensland.

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Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)
Canon 7D, 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 400mm

Noisy Miners are predominantly grey, with a whitish forehead, black head and cheeks along with a yellow bill, legs and bare-skinned eye patch. They eat nectar, fruit and occasional insects. Their untidy nests are built among the foliage of a leafy branch and are made of grasses, twigs and spider webs.

Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)
Canon 5D3, 1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 1600, focal length 400mm

Noisy Miners are a territorial, aggressive species that even fight each other for food, as in the image above. They are often seen foraging in large groups (colonies can include several hundred birds) and are known to swoop humans, other birds and animals. They confidently attack birds larger than themselves including kookaburras and raptors.

Their numbers have rapidly increased in suburban areas with theories suggesting that this could be due to garden plantings of nectar-bearing plants that flower throughout the year. Although they are a native species, calls have been made for culling in order to protect small bush birds that are driven away when Noisy Miners colonise a new area. Associate Professor Martine Maron believes that controlling Noisy Miner numbers would be of greater biodiversity benefit than controlling the Common Myna.

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Canon 7D, 1/640, f/5.6, ISO 160, focal length 370mm

Common Mynas are also known as Indian Mynas or mynahs; they are members of the starling family. They are darker, browner and slightly smaller than Noisy Miners. They are not a native species, having been introduced to Victoria and Queensland during the second half of the 1800s to help reduce insect numbers in exotic garden plants and crops – what were we thinking! They are one of only three birds to have been listed by the IUCN as being among the world’s top 100 most invasive species.

Common Mynas are an aggressive species that compete with native birds for food and nesting sites. They are expert scavengers that thrive in areas inhabited by people. Unlike Noisy Miners the Common Myna nests in hollows and will forcefully evict existing tenants even if the tenants are already raising a family. This is a serious issue for our hollow-nesting native species, including those in the parrot family.

Some local shires and councils hire traps for Common Mynas or provide plans for people to build suitable traps. I know several people who successfully trap, and euthanise myna birds according to strict guidelines. Control programs are in place across many part of eastern Australia, with a particularly successful scheme reducing myna bird numbers in the Canberra/Queanbeyan area.

Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula)
Canon 7D, 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 100

• miners aren’t mynas, but mynas are mynahs
• miners are native, mynas are introduced
• miners are honeyeaters, mynas are from the starling family
• Noisy Miners and Common Mynas are included in the Birdlife Australia list of ‘Birds behaving badly’
• Common Mynas nest in hollows and evict sitting tenants
• Common Mynas are currently trapped and euthanised
• Calls have been made for Noisy Miners to be culled to promote biodiversity
• neither species are minor birds, more’s the pity

Happy birding, Kim