Gracupica contra
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Indian pied myna (Gracupica contra) is a species of starling found in the Indian subcontinent. It is usually found in small groups mainly on the plains and low foothills. It is often seen within cities and villages although it is not as bold as the common myna. It produces a range of calls made up of liquid notes.
The Indian pied myna was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Sturnus contra. Linnaeus based his description on the "Contra, from Bengall" that had been described and illustrated in 1738 by Eleazar Albin and the "Black and White Indian Starling" that had been described and illustrated in 1751 by George Edwards. Albin believed that "contra" was the Bengali word for this species, but this name was not known in the 19th century. Linnaeus specified the type locality as India but this was restricted to Calcutta by the British ornithologist E. C. Stuart Baker in 1921. In the past the Indian pied myna has been included in the genera Sturnus and Sturnopastor but based on results from molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2008 it is now placed in the resurrected... Wikipedia →
Recording0:16
Thailand · 2025
© smathichong · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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India · 2026
© shivani_jakhodia · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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India · 2023
© bomby_garu · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 16 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 17 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hajipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Dubai | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 3 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 4 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 5 | Jamshedpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 8 | Ranchi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Berhampore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 2 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pied Starling sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 870 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pied Starling in Chitwan National Park on a given day, against about 30% in April, the lowest month. Those are among Chitwan National Park's wettest months, with about 490 mm of rain a month against almost none in November.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Pied Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Indian Pied Starling sightings, Chitwan National Park ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in Kaziranga National Park (India, about 60%) and Keoladeo National Park (India, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Indian Pied Starling that you can see in Chitwan National Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Jungle Myna (about 50%), Chestnut-tailed Starling (about 40%) and Common Hill Myna (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Pied Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (870 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
