Gracula indica
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The southern hill myna (Gracula indica) is a member of the starling family. It is a resident of the forested regions of south India and Sri Lanka. This species moves around in flocks in the forest, and members of a flock keep in contact with a wide range of vocalizations.
The French word for the bird mainate is probably derived from the Indo-Portuguese mainato, from the name of a songbird living near water, and is probably a metaphor since it refers to a man whose job is to wash the clothes of others.
The southern hill myna has a shiny black plumage. It generally measures about twenty centimeters. It can live between 15 and 30 years. The legs are yellow, the beak is bright orange at the base and yellow at the tip. It has white spots on the primary remiges. Like other species of hill myna, the southern hill myna has yellow wattles on the head.
The southern hill myna is present in southwestern India and Sri Lanka. It inhabits tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, mountains, mangrove forests and plantation areas. It is usually found high in the canopy, moving in large noisy groups of about half a dozen, in treetops... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 2 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Waddesdon Aviary | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hill Myna sighting in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, based on 942 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 272 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.
February and April
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hill Myna in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, against about 20% in March and December, the lowest months. Those are among Nagarhole National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 270 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Hill Myna sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Southern Hill Myna sightings, Nagarhole National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 70%).
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Hill Myna that you can see in Nagarhole National Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Jungle Myna (about 60%), Brahminy Starling (about 30%) and Malabar Starling (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Hill Myna is recorded against all the birds logged in Nagarhole National Park (942 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.
