Gracula indica
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hill Myna sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 192 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 75th most-seen of the 156 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May–August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Hill Myna in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in April and September–February, the lowest months.
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.
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Southern Hill Myna sightings, Sinharaja Forest Reserve ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 70%), Nagarhole National Park (India, about 40%) and Bandipur National Park (India, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Hill Myna is recorded against all the birds logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (192 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.
