Gracupica contra
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 →
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Thailand · 2025
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India · 2026
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India · 2023
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| # | 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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pied Starling sighting in Hyderabad on a given day, based on 644 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 36th most-seen of the 194 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Pied Starling in Hyderabad on a given day, against about 10% in March and June, the lowest months. Those are among Hyderabad's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 190 mm in August.
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.
35th of 53
Of the 53 cities where we can rate Indian Pied Starling sightings, Hyderabad ranks 35th at about 20%. The best odds are in Hajipur (India, about 90%), Dubai (United Arab Emirates, about 80%) and Chattogram (Bangladesh, about 80%).
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Indian Pied Starling that you can see in Hyderabad (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Brahminy Starling (about 10%) and Rosy Starling (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 Hyderabad (644 verified sightings), 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.
