It will be fine if we get along for a few more days. [Edit this paragraph] Basic information
Chinese name: Myna
Chinese aliases: Yubi, Parrot, Hangao, Huahua
Latin literary name: Acridotheres cristatellus (Linnaeus, 1766)
English name: myna or mynah
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Phylum Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Starlingidae
Genus: Myna< /p>
Myna is the general name for birds of the genus Myna in the order Passeriformes, order Starlingidae, and family Myna. There are many forehead feathers, which are elongated and erect, forming a scarf with the long feathers on the top of the head; the side of the head is either completely covered with feathers, or partially exposed. The sexes are similar. There are 6 species of worms, mainly distributed in Asia. There are 4 species including common myna in China. Common starlings are all black, with feathers standing upright at the base of the bill, forming feathers; the top of the head, cheeks, pillows and ear feathers have a green metallic luster; the rest of the upper body is stained with brown; the base of the primary flight feathers and the tips of the primary coverts are white, forming large white wings Spots; tail feathers black, except for the central tail feathers, all have white ends. The lower body is gray-black, and the lower tail coverts are black with white ends. Myna is a common bird in southern China. It is distributed from southern Shaanxi to provinces south of the Yangtze River, as well as Taiwan and Hainan Province. They can be found in villages, fields, and bushes on the edge of mountains and forests. They like to live in groups and often live in groups of dozens on large trees. Omnivorous, they often follow cattle plowing the fields and feed on earthworms, locusts, mole crickets, etc.; they also peck at trees such as banyan fruits, tallow seeds, raspberries, etc. The breeding period is from April to July. Can reproduce 2 times per year. They build nests in tree holes or cracks in buildings, sometimes using old nests of magpies, starlings, etc.; the nests are shallow bowl-shaped and made of straw, leaves, feathers, etc. Each clutch lays 4 eggs. Eggs are light blue. The myna is a cage bird that is docile and tractable, and can imitate human speech and the songs of other birds.
[Edit this paragraph] Appearance characteristics
This species of bird is all black and looks like a crow at first glance. Both are much smaller (the body length of the large-billed crow is 50 cm; the body length of the starling is 25 cm). Secondly, the beak and feet of the starlings are all bright yellow. This species has obvious frontal feathers at the junction of the beak and the head. If you look closely at the body feathers on the head and neck, there is a green metallic luster flashing in the black. The bases of the primary coverts and primary flight feathers are white, so it is During flight, there are obvious white spots in the center of the two wings. Looking up from below, the two white spots form an "eight" shape. This is also the origin of the name of the myna. The sharp contrast between the two white spots and the black body feathers is also an important identification of the myna. Characteristics: The tips of the tail feathers are white. The frontal feathers of the sub-adults of this species are not developed, and the color of the body feathers is not as dark and mature as that of the adult birds, and is slightly brown.
The body length of myna is about 25 cm. The feathers all over the body are black and shiny, and the yellow forehead feathers on the beak and feet stand up like a crown; the wings have white spots, which are especially obvious when flying. From below, they look like "eight characters", so they are called starlings; the tail feathers have white tips.
[Edit this paragraph] Distribution range
Myna was originally distributed in southern China and the Indochina Peninsula. It is a typical bird of the Oriental world. However, the illegal bird trade has caused the myna to spread rapidly. There are now introduced populations in the Philippines and Borneo, and the myna has gradually become a common resident bird in northern China north of the Huaihe River.
Widely distributed in South China and Southwest China. Taiwan, Hainan Island and other places.
[Edit this paragraph] Living habits
They live in plain villages, fields and the edges of mountains and forests. They like to gather in groups. They often stand on the backs of buffaloes or gather on big trees. Or they stand in rows on the ridge of the roof. At dusk, they often fly in large groups in the air, making noise for a while and then settling down. They spend the night in bamboo forests, big trees or reeds, and roost in mixed flocks with other starlings or crows. It has a mixed diet and often follows farmers and cattle to peck at earthworms, insects, worms, etc. found on the soil surface dug by plows. It also likes to peck at flies, flies and ticks on the backs of cattle. It also preys on elephants, locusts, beetles, mole crickets, etc. . Most of the plant foods of starlings are various plants and weed seeds, as well as fig fruits, vegetable stems and leaves.
[Edit this paragraph] Growth and reproduction
Breeds from April to July, with 2 nests per year. The nest has no fixed location and is often found in gaps in the walls of ancient temples and pagodas, under the eaves, In tree holes, old nests of magpies or black-collared brownbirds are sometimes tidied up, or abandoned nests of kingfishers are borrowed. The nest is large and irregular, slightly shallow bowl-shaped, and is made of straw, pine leaves, reed stems, feathers, soft hairs and other waste debris. It lays 4-6 eggs, which are bright jade blue.
Artificial breeding
Domestic myna is raised in tall myna cages, and more male birds are raised. The best effect is to start raising the young birds. The feed for starlings is preferably eggs and rice. The preparation method of egg rice is: put the rice into the pot, stir-fry over low heat until it is yellow but not burnt, pour it into a basin, mix the stirred raw egg liquid into the rice while it is hot, stir well, and break it after cooling. Just rub it into pieces. Generally, 4 to 6 eggs are added per kilogram of rice, and appropriate amounts of ants, skin worms, lean pork shreds, tender vegetables, bananas, etc. are added. Starlings have strong digestive power and a large appetite.
Starlings like water baths and can often sing while bathing in the water. They do this once a day or every other day in summer. The number of baths is appropriately reduced in spring and autumn, and they rarely bathe in water in winter. When taking a water bath, the cage is often placed in a basin, and clean water is added into the basin. The water depth is approximately to the upper joint of the starling's metatarsal bone, and the water temperature should not be too low.
Starlings are born in the south and are naturally afraid of cold. Therefore, the birdcage must have a cage cover and be hung indoors at night. It cannot be hung in a passage with cold wind. In winter, you must always keep warm and let the starlings bask in the sun on sunny days. sun.
Training
Generally, training starts from young birds, preferably after the first time they change their feathers.
3.2 Learning human language: Teach the myna to learn human language after twisting the tongue. When training mynas to learn human language, you should choose a secluded place and do it on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. When training, you must first cultivate the relationship between birds and people, and spend more time with birds. The training content should be from simple to complex. Simple words such as "hello" and "goodbye" should be taught first, and longer sentences can be taught later. Food must be used as bait during training; trainers must speak clearly and pronounce words accurately and coherently. When a myna learns human language, its pronunciation and pronunciation cannot be as clear as a human's. Therefore, during training, the requirements for its pronunciation cannot be strict. Once it learns the first sentence, it will become easier in the future. If you use a myna who can already speak human language to teach, the effect will be better. After the myna learns human language, people should often tease it with its teachings to consolidate its achievements. After all, starlings are animals and are slow to learn human language. Trainers must be meticulous and patient, and avoid being rough, otherwise all efforts will be wasted.
3.3 Flying: After being trained to fly, the myna can obey the owner's commands or gestures. Wherever the owner goes, it will fly with it. The first step of release training is to train the myna to enter and get into the cage (putting on and off the cage when raising). The method is to first put no feed in the cage to make it hungry, and then put the feed on the bamboo slices and extend it into the cage to feed. After the bird gets used to this feeding method, slowly move to the cage door to feed, let the bird stand at the cage door, extend the feeding bamboo piece from the back of the cage, make the bird eat with its head toward the inside of the cage and its tail toward the outside of the cage. The action consolidates for a few days. The second step is to release the bird in a closed room. After letting it fly for a period of time, move the cage closer to the bird, and then insert the bamboo piece into the cage from behind to attract food and make it jump back into the cage. After 1 to 2 days, there is no need to move the cage closer to the bird, and it will be able to fly high and far away. The release time for starlings should not be too long, usually 12 to 15 minutes, and they should not be fed too full when released.
Starlings can be raised in a special cage with a sand stick perch inside. The chicks can be fed with tofu every day. The starlings can also be mixed with millet, eggs, and an appropriate amount of water, then steamed and kneaded into small pieces. feed. Duck eggs are available in summer. Give myna powder twice a day, and grasshoppers, earthworms, lean meat, bananas, vegetables, etc. every other day.
The chicks are fed only tofu within 7 days, and only 10% tofu within 8-20 days. The rest are fed eggs, millet, and a small amount of tender green vegetables, small insects, and water. 21---For 70 days, feed 5% tofu, the rest is eggs, millet, and then feed a small amount of tender vegetables, small insects, and water. The ratio of egg millet to egg yolk millet was changed from 3:1 to 1:1. After 70 days, the ratio of egg yolk to millet was further reduced.
In summer, you can take a water bath every day or every other day. The cage should be cleaned frequently. In winter, you should pay attention to cold protection, bask in the sun more, and cover it with a cage cloth after exposure.
Myna cages include round dome cages, flat-top round cages, vaulted square cages, etc. (the diameter and height are both about 40cm). A jumping stick, a food bowl, and a water bowl are placed in the cage. The bottom of the cage is equipped with a dung board and a bamboo board for holding meat. There is an external cage.
After the purchased chicks are fully able to eat, they are fed with cooked eggs, steamed buns, rice, tofu, insects, eels, frogs, beef or lean pork. Live eels and frogs can be chopped into minced meat. Feed 3-5 balls each time until the chick's crop is full. After feeding, use a dropper to suck water and put a little water into its mouth, and feed it every 1-2 hours. The downy chicks can be placed in a cardboard box with some rags in the middle. After feeding, they can be placed in the nest and placed in a dark place. Downy chicks are best fed together in a litter so that they can huddle together for warmth.
Add egg yolk rice and drinking water to the cage every day for the chicks that are already able to eat. The amount should not be too full to prevent the chicks from developing a bad habit of picking up food. Every morning, hang the birdcage to the window or outdoors. After breathing fresh air for 1-1.5 hours, take it back to the room to rest, eat and drink. At noon, put the bird cage into a water basin. The water should not be too deep. The water surface should be about 5cm from the bottom of the cage and let it bathe in water. The manure-holding board at the bottom of the cage is removed before the water bath. After the bath, the bottom board is added and hung to the window or outdoors. The cage is left open for 1-1.5 hours and then taken back to the room to rest. In addition to feeding eggs, rice and drinking water, the young chicks also need to be fed some supplementary food such as egg yolks, lean meat, insects, etc. Do not deprive yourself of food or water. When the bird goes out in cold winter, it is necessary to cover it with a cage.
The formula of starling bird feed
There is a kind of chick starter (according to the instructions, it is actually a special feed for one-day-old chicks, with high nutritional content and easy digestion) to make a basic feed dosage of 4 A market pound of 5 yuan; 8 raw eggs are about 2 yuan per market catty; a bag of fish meal (half a market pound) is 3.5 yuan; a bag of beef and mutton meal (pack of 2 ounces) is 2 yuan; a bird feed premix from Beijing Kaiyuan Bag [1 pack] 2.5 yuan; 2 small bags of crushed yeast flakes [50 tablets per bag] 1 yuan; oil crops (raw peanut powder, raw sesame, etc.) 1 pound 3 yuan; cuttlefish bone meal half a pound 4 yuan; crushed That is, a certain amount of eggshells and a certain amount of washed sand; the cost is calculated as 23 yuan, which can be used to prepare more than 7 catties of feed, with an average price of about 3.5 yuan per catty.
Feedback on usage: Customers think that the price of this formulated feed is reasonable and acceptable. Compared with bagged feed, not only is the price lower, but the bird's consumption is significantly reduced. The bird becomes stronger after eating it and no longer specially buys mealworms to feed the birds. Some customers follow my advice and add more raw eggs when they return home. The effect is better and the cost is reduced (the addition ranges from 1 to 2 catties).
Preparation operation: Stir the above feed and auxiliary ingredients evenly, then first add the eggs and mix with a wooden stick. After the feed has slightly penetrated into the eggs, gently rub them into lumps with your hands and dry them for easy storage. To add eggs, the feed must be dried and then added. Be careful not to add more than 4 eggs at a time. If you add more eggs, the feed particles will dissolve into powder.
1. Bird choice
Myna’s feathers are not gorgeous, and their singing voice is not very beautiful, but they are not afraid of people, smart, and good at imitating people’s words. Some people raise starlings just to let them play with others, but most people do it to let them learn to "talk". Therefore, the selection of male and female is not strict. The key is to start raising young birds. But some people think that female starlings are better at imitating than males. According to experience, mynas with jade-white mouth and orange-yellow feet are more "smart" than those with gray-brown mouth and tawny feet.
2. Characteristics of the cage
Birds in the starling family such as starlings and mynas are all large cage birds, so the cage should be larger. Because of its miscellaneous food habits, large food intake, and frequent defecation, the cage should have a bright bottom and a fecal support board underneath. In addition, the myna's mouth is strong, the body is in good shape, and the cage should be sturdy. Generally, it is 48 cm high, 36 cm in diameter, 2.2 cm apart between strips, and 0.4 cm thick. It can be made of bamboo or lead wire (No. 14). There is a shark skin perch, a water tank, and a soft food tank. They are deeper, larger, and stronger than those of ordinary birds.
3. Feed and feeding methods
Adult birds use eggs and rice as their standing feed. They feed a soft food tank with minced meat, fruits (cut into small pieces), and powder (same as the same) every morning. Thrush) mixed soft food, the amount should be eaten within 1-2 hours. For baby bird food, you can mix powder and minced meat with water or use plantains to make a puree. Feed with pellets, 5-8 times a day. Change to soft food when the bird can feed on its own, and add eggs and millet after the feathers have grown.
4. Management and training
Myna’s feces are abundant and smelly, so the bottom of the cage and the feces support board should be cleaned every other day. At the same time, birds should be bathed in water frequently. You can put the myna in a water bath cage and let it bathe on its own, or you can use a watering can to shower, and then dry it in the sun after the water bath. Change the water in the water tank every day, because you often rinse your mouth when eating soft food, which can easily become contaminated.
The best way to teach a bird to "speak" from young to adult is to teach it every morning and evening on an empty stomach. The surrounding environment should be quiet and free of noise. The syllables should be taught first with fewer syllables and then with more syllables. After one sentence is learned, the second sentence should be taught. Every time you "speak" clearly, give the bird the food it likes to eat. Like bananas, insects, etc. It needs to be repeated many times. Generally, it takes 3-7 days to learn one sentence. Those who can learn 10 sentences are excellent.
It is easiest to use an experienced bird that has learned to talk. When teaching, let the bird face the mirror for quick results. As for the idea that starlings must undergo some kind of surgery on their tongues to learn to "speak", there is no scientific basis. Because the vocal organ of most birds is the "syringe" located at the lower end of the trachea and the branch of the bronchus, and produces sounds by the contraction of the attached muscles, while the human vocal cords are at the upper end of the trachea.
Birds in the starling family such as forest starlings, northern starlings, grey-backed starlings, and black-collared starlings can all be raised by the above method. Pairs are mostly kept in large cages or houses with tree hole nests or wooden nest boxes. Some zoos have successfully reproduced them.
[Edit this paragraph] Species Protection
This species is not included in the endangered list, but is threatened by the illegal bird trade and is hunted as a medicinal ingredient. Traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that starlings The feathers and all the internal organs are removed and the meat is taken out. It has the functions of reducing gas and stopping bleeding, so it is used.
This species has been included in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State and Beneficial or of Important Economic and Scientific Research Value" issued by the State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000.
Starlings and the Illegal Bird Trade
Starlings are good at echoing calls and can even learn human speech. Therefore, they have been kept as pets by humans since ancient times, and have derived various complex species. Domestication name.
However, starlings have never been reproduced under artificial breeding conditions. Therefore, all starlings in the bird trade are captured directly from the wild. This illegal bird trade poses a great threat to wild bird populations, which is mainly reflected in the following points:
●Capture in the place of origin may pose a threat to the survival of this species and cause the extinction of wild populations
●Escape and rewilding in the imported place may cause alien species The invasion destroys the native bird population structure in the imported area
●It may bring new infectious diseases to the imported area and spread among the indigenous populations in the imported area