Monday, July 31, 2006

Mynahs outside my window

These birds are just plain rude. If they could sing (like I thought birds are supposed to) I could tolerate them – instead – at 5.30am they tunelessly and aggressively bleat the same non-note over and over again, like a broken electric alarm clock telling you it's time to catch your early morning flight to hell. The sound is halfway between a squawk and a bleep – horrible.

Here’s a small history of the bird from the smh:

Since their introduction in Victoria in the 1860s, originally to control insects in market gardens, the birds have spread, like flying cane toads, to almost all parts of Australia.


And from a more specialised site

They put them in the list of the 100 most invading species in the world and describe them as an extreme threat to Australia. And humans don't get off easily either. Mynahs carry bird mites and have the potential to carry avian-borne diseases that are dangerous to people, not to mention the huge amount of droppings they leave under their communal roosting trees. Often gathering at night in numbers in excess of a thousand, these raucous birds can take over clumps of trees, especially around areas where lots of people go (where they encounter fewer predators) like shopping centres.


Not to mention the park outside my flat.

But this is the worst:

[The] Indian mynah is an extremely aggressive bird that attacks baby native birds and takes over all the best nesting spots….

The methods these birds use to kill other birds can be horrible. Sometimes they build nests right on top of the eggs of parrots. But they don't stop there. They've been seen killing some tree-dwelling species of mammals too. This is pushing many Australian species towards extinction.



It’s the avian apocalypse – like they’re heralding their own bad-ass-ness every morning – let's start by waking everybody up really early – then go on to screw up the rest of the day by killing and crapping on the environment: hah! (or, bleep!)

No wonder they squeak like demons.

Is this the future – only dickhead species like roaches and these birds (and capitalist humans) prospering?

2 comments:

Jules said...

Sounds like a pest. I'll be more careful in letting my guinea pigs out on the deck - don't want to lost a pig head or the entire pig !

Anonymous said...

Want to know more about what the Indian Mynas are doing and what you can do to help save our native birds and marsupials?
Go to www.indianmynaeradication.com and get in touch with the Indian Myna Man.
He can get you into the eradication program with helpful advice plus info on how you can hire or purchase a trap.