Birds Thru My Eyes : MALAYSIA: Common Hill Myna

Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Order - Passeriformes
Family - Sturnidae (Starlings)

Common Hill Myna

Gracula religiosa

鹩哥 (liáo-gē)

Malay : Tiung-Emas Biasa

Japanese : キュウカンチョウ (kyūkan-chō)

Kanji 日語漢字 : 九官鳥

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 12,500,000km²
  Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : 25–35 cm; 161–229 g; male heavier than female

Subspecies (9) and Distribution

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Common Hill Myna (Enggano) Gracula religiosa enganensis

Gracula religiosa miotera (Salvadori, 1892)
– Enggano Island, west of southern tip of Sumatra.

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Common Hill Myna (Nias) Gracula religiosa robusta

Gracula religiosa miotera (Salvadori, 1887)
– Banyak Islands (Babi, Bangkaru, and Tuangku) and Nias Island, off northwestern Sumatra.

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Common Hill Myna (Simeulue) Gracula religiosa miotera

Gracula religiosa miotera (Oberholser, 1912)
– Simeulue (off the west coast of Sumatra); probably extinct in the wild.

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Common Hill Myna (Common) Gracula religiosa [religiosa Group]

Gracula religiosa peninsularis (Whistler & Kinnear, 1933)
– Confined to eastern Ghats, peninsular India.
Gracula religiosa intermedia (Hay, 1845)
– Widespread from northern India through southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand south to around Trang province.
Gracula religiosa andamanensis (Beavan, 1867)
– Endemic to Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Gracula religiosa religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
– Occurs in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Bangka Island, Java, Bali, and Borneo. Birds on Simeulue Island have been proven to merit separate taxonomic rank.
Gracula religiosa batuensis (Finsch, 1899)
– Endemic to Batu and Mentawi islands, off northwestern Sumatra.
Gracula religiosa palawanensis (Sharpe, 1890)
– Endemic to Palawan in southwestern Philippines.