Chinese alias: mackerel, parrot, Gao Han, Huahua.

Latin scientific name: crested locust (Linnaeus, 1766)

English name: myna or mynah

Classification:

Field: animal kingdom

Phylum: Chordata phylum

Category: birds

Order: passeriformes

Stanica.

Genus: myna

Myna is the general term for birds of the genus Myna in the family Myna of passeriformes. Frontal feathers, especially long and erect, form a towel with the long feathers on the top of the head; The head is completely feathered or partially exposed. About the same sex. * * * There are 6 species, mainly distributed in Asia, and there are 4 common myna species in China. The common myna is black all over, and the feather forehead stands at the base of the mouth, forming a feather shape; The top of the head, cheeks, pillows and ear feathers have green metallic luster; The rest of the upper body is brown; The base of the primary flying feather and the top of the primary covering feather are white, forming large white wing spots; The tail feather is black, except the central tail feather, the rest are Bai Duan. The lower body is gray-black, and the tail is covered with black feathers, with Bai Duan. Myna is a common bird in southern China. From the south of Shaanxi to the provinces south of the Yangtze River, there are also Taiwan Province and Hainan provinces. They appear in villages, fields and bushes on the side of mountains. Like to live in groups, and live in trees in groups of ten. Omnivorous, often behind plowed cattle, feeding on earthworms, locusts, crickets, etc. ; They also peck at banyan, tallow and raspberry. The breeding period is from April to July. It can reproduce twice a year. Nesting in tree holes or cracks in buildings, sometimes using old nests such as magpies and starlings; The bird's nest is shallow and bowl-shaped, made of straw, leaves and feathers. Each nest lays four eggs. Eggs are light blue. Myna is a caged bird, gentle and easy to tame, and can imitate human language and songs of other birds.

Appearance characteristics

This kind of bird is black and looks like a crow, but it is obviously different from a crow. First of all, myna is much smaller than all kinds of crows (crows with big mouths are 50 cm long; Myna is 25 cm long, followed by myna's beak and feet are bright yellow. This species has obvious frontal feathers at the junction of beak and head. If you carefully observe the body feathers of the head and neck, the black is shining with green metallic luster, and the bases of the primary covering feathers and the primary flying feathers are all white, so there are obvious white spots in the center of the wings during the flight. Looking down, the two white dots are 8-shaped, which is also the source of myna's name. The sharp contrast between two white spots and black body feathers is also an important identification feature of myna. The tail feather is white at the end. The sub-adult of this species has underdeveloped forehead feathers, and the body feathers are not as black and mature as adult birds, but slightly brown.

Myna is about 25 cm long. The whole body feathers are black and shiny, and the yellow forehead feathers on the mouth and feet stand like crowns; There are white spots on the wings, which are particularly obvious when flying. It looks like "eight characters" from below, so it's called starling. The tail feather is white at the end.

distribution range

Myna, originally distributed in southern China and Indian zhina Peninsula, is a typical oriental bird. However, the illegal bird trade has made myna spread rapidly, and now there are introduced populations in the Philippines and Borneo, and myna has gradually become a common resident bird in the north of Huaihe River in China.

Widely distributed in South China and Southwest China. Taiwan Province Province, Hainan Island and other places.

Living habits

They live on the edge of villages, fields and forests in the plain. They are very happy. They often stand on the backs of buffaloes, gather in trees or stand on the roofs in rows. At dusk, they often dance in the air in large groups and live after a while. Spend the night in bamboo forests, trees or reeds, and live in groups with other starlings or crows. They are omnivores and often follow farmers and cows to peck at earthworms, insects and worms. And I like pecking flies, ticks, elephants, locusts, scarabs, crickets and so on. The plant food of myna is mostly the seeds of various plants and weeds, as well as the stems and leaves of banyan trees and vegetables.

Growth and reproduction

Breeding from April to July, 2 nests a year, no fixed place, often appearing in cracks in the walls of ancient temples and pagodas, under eaves, in tree holes, sometimes tidying up the old nests of magpies or brown birds with black collars, or borrowing caves abandoned by kingfishers. The nest is large, irregular and slightly shallow, and consists of wastes such as straw, pine leaves, reed stems, feathers and soft hairs. 4-6 eggs are laid, and the eggs are bright jade blue.

artificial feeding

Domesticating myna adopts a tall myna cage and raises more males, and the best effect is to raise them from young birds. Eggs and rice are the best feed for myna. The preparation method of egg rice is: put the rice in a pot, stir-fry it with slow fire until it is yellow but not burnt, pour it into a basin, mix the evenly stirred raw egg liquid into the rice while it is hot, stir it evenly, let it cool, break it and rub it evenly. Generally, there are 4 ~ 6 eggs per kilogram of rice, as well as ants, skin worms, shredded lean meat, tender vegetables, bananas and so on. Are properly added. Myna has a strong digestion and a big appetite.

Myna likes to take a bath and often sings in the bath. Once or every other day in summer 1 time, reduce the frequency appropriately in spring and autumn, and seldom take a bath in winter. When taking a bath, often put the cage into the basin, and add water to the basin. The water depth is about to the joint of myna metatarsal, and the water temperature should not be too low.

Starling was born in the south, naturally afraid of the cold. Therefore, bird cages should have cage clothes and be hung indoors at night, not at intersections with cold wind. Always keep warm in winter, and let myna bask in the sun on sunny days.

Care and guidance

General training should start with young birds, preferably newly changed 1 feather.

The "tongue flip" action of 3.65438+ should be gentle. After twisting the tongue, put it back in the original cage to feed the soft steamed egg rice (processing method: after the rice is washed and drained, add 4 ~ 8 eggs per kilogram and stir evenly, steam it over high fire, rub it while it is hot and cool thoroughly. Steamed egg rice is easy to deteriorate and can only be processed in small quantities at a time. Two weeks later, the tongue was twisted 1 time by the above method, and the extremely thin and incomplete membrane was twisted, and then it was cultivated for 2 ~ 3 weeks.

3.2 Learning human language: Teach myna to learn human language after twisting her tongue. When training myna to learn human language, we should choose a secluded place and do it on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. When training, we should first cultivate the feelings between birds and people, get along with birds more, and the training content should be from simple to complex. We should teach simple words, such as "hello" and "goodbye", and then teach longer sentences. Food must be used as bait during training; A trainer should articulate and articulate accurately and coherently. Starlings can't pronounce human language as clearly as humans, so they can't be harsh in training. Once they learn the sentence 1, it will be easy in the future. If we use myna who can already speak human language, the effect will be better. After myna learns human language, people should always ridicule his theory and consolidate his achievements. Myna is an animal after all, and it is very slow to learn human language. Trainers should be meticulous and patient, and avoid rudeness, otherwise all efforts will be in vain.

3.3 Flying: After flying training, myna can obey the master's password or gesture, and it will follow wherever the master goes. Flight training 1 step is to train myna to get in and out of the cage (when feeding, get on the cage and get off the cage). The method is not to put the feed in the cage first, then put the feed on the bamboo pieces and feed it in the cage. After getting used to this feeding method, the bird slowly moved to the cage door to feed, let the bird stand at the door of the cage and feed the bamboo chips from behind the cage, so that the bird's head was in the cage and its tail was facing. The second step is to fly in a closed room. After flying for a period of time, move the cage close to the bird, then put the bamboo pieces into the cage from behind to lure the food and make it jump back into the cage. 1 ~ 2 days later, you don't have to move the cage close to the bird, and you can fly far in the future. The flight time of myna should not be too long, usually 12 ~ 15 minutes, and it should not be fed too much during the flight.

Myna can be put in a special cage with a sand stick on its perch. Young birds can also feed tofu with millet mixed with eggs and appropriate amount of water every day, steam it and knead it into small fine materials. Duck eggs are available in summer. Feed the stork with powder twice a day, and give it to grasshoppers, earthworms, lean meat, bananas, vegetables and so on the next day.

Chickens are fed only tofu for 7 days, 10% tofu for 8-20 days, eggs and millet for the rest, and a small amount of tender vegetables, worms and water. 2 1-70 days, feed 5% tofu, the rest eggs and millet, and then feed a small amount of tender vegetables, worms and water. Egg millet changed from yolk millet 3: 1 to 1: 1, and the proportion of egg yolk decreased further after 70 days.

You can take a water bath every day or every other day in summer. Cages should be cleaned frequently. Pay attention to cold protection in winter, get more sunshine, and cover it with cage cloth after sun exposure.

Myna cages include round domes, round flat-topped cages and square domes (both about 40cm in diameter and height). There is a jumping stick, a vegetable bowl and a water bowl in the cage. The bottom of the cage is equipped with dung boards and bamboo boards for holding meat. Put on a prison uniform outside.

After the chickens bought are completely edible, they are fed with boiled eggs, steamed bread, rice, tofu, insects, eels, frogs, beef or lean pork. Live eels and frogs can be chopped into paste. Feed 3-5 groups at a time until the chicks are full of crops. After feeding, use the dropper to absorb water and feed a little water into its mouth, every 1-2 hours/time. Fluffy chicks can be put in paper boxes with some rags in the middle, fed and placed in nests, and the nests are placed in the dark. It's best to feed the fluffy chicks together in a nest so that they can huddle together to keep warm.

For the chicks who have already eaten, add egg yolk rice and drinking water to the cage every day, and the amount should not be too full to prevent the chicks from being picky eaters. Hang the birdcage in the window and outdoors every morning, breathe 1- 1.5 hours of fresh air, and then take it back to your room to rest and drink. At noon, put the birdcage into the basin, the water should not be too deep, and the water surface is about 5cm away from the bottom of the cage, so that it can take a bath. Take off the manure board at the bottom of the cage before taking a bath, then hang the manure board at the bottom of the cage at the window or in an outdoor open cage 1- 1.5 hours, and then take it back to your room to rest. In addition to feeding eggs, rice and drinking water, chicks should also supplement some bait such as egg yolk, lean meat and insects. Don't leave without eating or drinking. When taking birds out in cold winter, cover them with cage clothes.

Formula of myna feed

There is a kind of chicken feed essence [according to the description, it is actually a special feed for one-day-old chicks, with high nutritional content and easy digestion]. The dosage of basic feed is 4 kg 5 yuan; 8 raw eggs, about 1 kg 2 yuan; A bag of fish meal [half a catty] 3.5 yuan; A bag of beef and mutton powder [two packs] 2 yuan; Beijing Kaiyuan one bag of poultry feed premix [1 two packs] 2.5 yuan; 2 small bags of yeast tablets [50 tablets per bag] 1 yuan; Oil crops [raw peanut powder, raw sesame, etc. ] 1 kg 3 yuan; Squid bone powder half a catty of 4 yuan; Crushing means many eggshells; Some washed sand; If the cost is calculated in 23 yuan, more than 7 kg can be used to prepare feed, with an average of about 3.5 yuan per kg.

User feedback: customers all think that the price of this formulated feed is reasonable and acceptable. Compared with bagged feed, it is not only cheap, but also the consumption of poultry is obviously reduced, and the poultry is very strong after eating, so it is no longer necessary to buy mealworms to feed poultry. Some customers add raw eggs appropriately after returning to China according to my suggestion, and the effect is better and the cost is reduced (adding 1 ~ 2 kg).

Preparation operation: stir the above feed and auxiliary materials evenly, then beat the eggs and stir with a wooden stick. After the feed slightly penetrates into the egg, gently rub it open by hand and dry it for easy storage. Add eggs, dry the feed, and then keep stirring. Be careful not to add more than four eggs at a time, because too many eggs will cause feed particles to dissolve into powder.

1, bird selection

Myna's feathers are not gorgeous and her voice is not very beautiful, but she is not afraid of people, smart and good at imitating others. Some people spoil myna to let it play with others, but most people listen to it to learn to "talk". Therefore, male and female selection is not strict, and the key is to start feeding from young birds. But some people think that female myna is better at imitating than male myna. According to experience, myna with jade white mouth and orange feet is more "smart" than myna with beige mouth and brown feet.

2, the characteristics of cage

Birds of Myna family, such as myna and myna, are all large caged birds, so the cages are bigger. Because of its miscellaneous eating habits, large appetite and frequent defecation, the bottom of the cage should be bright and there should be a stool board below. In addition, myna has a strong mouth, good health and a strong cage. Generally, the height is 48 cm, the diameter is 36 cm, the strip spacing is 2.2 cm and the strip thickness is 0.4 cm. It can be made of bamboo or lead wire (No.14). A shark skin perches on a pole, a pitcher and a soft food jar, which are deeper, bigger and stronger than ordinary birds.

3, feed and feeding methods

Adult birds take eggs and rice as the regular feed, and feed a soft food jar with meat foam, fruit (cut into small pieces) and powder (with thrush) every morning. The quantity is limited to 1-2 hours. Young birds can feed on powder and meat foam by adding water or using bananas to make mud. Pill feeding, 5-8 times a day. When the birds can eat by themselves, change to soft food, and add eggs and millet when the feathers grow up.

4. Management and training

Starlings have a lot of feces and smell, so they should clean the bottom of the cage and the feces supporting plate every other day. At the same time, always bathe the birds. You can put myna in a water bath cage and let it bathe by itself, or you can take a shower with a watering can and put it in the sun to dry. Change the water in the kettle every day, because eating soft food often gargles and is easy to pollute.

It is best to teach birds to "talk" from childhood to adulthood, and teach them on an empty stomach every morning and evening. The surrounding environment should be quiet and there should be no noise. If you teach, you should learn one sentence before teaching the second sentence. Give the birds their favorite food every time they make it clear. Like bananas, insects and so on. It needs to be repeated many times. Generally, it takes 3-7 days to learn a sentence, and those who can learn 10 are excellent.

It is easiest to learn to talk with an old bird, and it is faster to let the bird face the mirror when teaching. There is no scientific basis for the statement that myna can only learn to "speak" by doing some operation on her tongue. Because most birds' vocal organs are the branches of the "sound tube" and bronchi located at the lower end of the trachea, they sound through the contraction of the attached muscles, while human vocal cords are at the upper end of the trachea.

Birds in sturnidae, such as myna, myna, gray-backed married bird and myna with black collar, can be raised by the above methods. Many of them are kept in large cages or houses in pairs, including tree holes or wooden nest boxes, and some have been successfully bred in zoos.

Species protection

This species is not on the endangered list, but it is threatened by illegal bird trade and hunted as a medicinal ingredient. Chinese medicine theory holds that myna has the functions of removing feathers, viscera and meat, so it is used.

This species has been listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under National Key Protection or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value issued by the State Forestry Administration in August 2000 1.

Myna and illegal bird trade

Myna is good at singing and even imitating human speech, so it has been kept as a pet by human beings since ancient times, and has derived various complicated domestication names. However, myna has been unable to breed under artificial breeding conditions, so myna in bird trade is directly captured from the wild. This illegal bird trade poses a great threat to the wild bird population, mainly reflected in the following points:

Capturing in the country of origin may pose a threat to the survival of this species and lead to the extinction of wild populations.

● Escaping and re-wilding in the input area may lead to the invasion of alien species and destroy the local bird population structure in the input area.

● It is possible to bring new infectious diseases to the import area and spread them among the indigenous population in the import area.