Is the crested myna a protected animal? The answer is here

The crested myna is an animal of the class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Sturnidae, genus Acridotheres. It can imitate the calls of other birds and can also mimic simple human speech, making it a very popular cage bird. So, is the crested myna a protected animal?

1. Is the crested myna a protected animal?

The crested myna is a protected animal and has been included in the "List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Value under National Protection" issued by China's State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000. The protected species include the common myna, the crested myna, the jungle myna, the collared myna and the golden-crested myna.

2. What does the crested myna eat? Is it a beneficial bird?

The crested myna is an omnivorous bird. Its animal foods include locusts, grasshoppers, scarab beetles, snakes, caterpillars, cutworms, flies, lice, horseflies, mole crickets, earthworms and so on, while its plant foods include grains, plant fruits and seeds, and vegetable stems and leaves.

Crested mynas often follow farmers and plough oxen to peck at earthworms, insects, worms and so on turned up to the surface by the plough, and they also like to peck at horseflies, flies and ticks on the backs of oxen. They also prey on locusts, scarab beetles, mole crickets and so on, and are therefore important beneficial birds of agriculture and forestry.