Bank Myna

Description:

Just as the name suggests, these were present on the bank of the pond. Saw them while disembarking from the boat. It has a a reddish-orange bare skin behind the eye. The head is black on the crown and sides and the upper plumage is slaty grey while the underside is lighter grey with pale pink plumage towards the centre of the abdomen. The wing is black but has a wing patch at the base of the primaries and the tips of the outer tail feathers are pale pinkish buff, the legs are yellow. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. The native range of the Bank Myna is almost restricted to the Indian Subcontinent from the Indus valley in the West, to the Gangetic delta in the East and south of the lower foothills of the Himalayas, only rarely being found in sheltered valleys. They are found mainly in the vicinity of open water and their usual habitat is cultivated farmland and open country but flocks will often live within cities, in markets and railway stations.

Habitat:

On the banks of the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary.