DUBAI, 23 April 2007 — A large nesting colony of Bank Myna, a variety of the common Myna or pied starling, has been spotted off Warsan in Dubai. This is arguably the largest breeding ground for this bird in the UAE, though it is commonly seen in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and other parts of the country.
According to Dr. Reza Khan, head of Dubai Zoo, the bird with the zoological name, Acridotheres ginginianus, is a resident of the Indian Subcontinent, commonly seen from the Sindh Province in Pakistan to Bangladesh.
He said the nests were spotted in a desert area, off the Dubai Municipality-run Sewage Treatment Plant in Warsan.
“Prior to 1990, there was hardly any Bank Myna visible in any part of the UAE barring a few farming areas in Ras Al Khaimah.
This bird was introduced to the UAE’s environment from some specimens that flew free from pet shops and pet bird owners in the late 1980s and early 1990s when visitors returning from India used to bring cages full of exotic birds form the subcontinent.
In those days Sharjah Pet Shops were full of such birds and other mynas and starlings. “First, the escaped Bank Myna established a population in the RAK. Later, it moved on to occupy areas in Dhaid, Sharjah, Dubai and Al Ain,” Dr. Khan recollected.
“There are more than 100 nesting holes on the three steep banks of the pit as its eastern side is the sloping one through which trucks removed sand earlier. When I spotted the area it was late morning — and the temperature must have crossed 35 degrees Celsius. Hundreds of mynas were visiting the nesting holes — 50 to 100 cm deep horizontal tunnels — dug by the mynas themselves. Many were carrying food in their bills. This suggests that the colony is full of chicks,” said Dr. Khan.
