I was hoping to come back from my last vacations with tons of photos of different and exotic birds... and no, didn't happen. I did saw quite a few different species, but haven't managed to capture them on camera. Well, it's always a good excuse to go back, right?
Nevertheless, I still managed a few shots of birds that I don't see here. So this week's SMAP theme is perfect, since it's a free theme: time to showcase one of them!
When I hear about a blackbird here, it's normally... well, the blackbird, Turdus merula! But that doesn't hold true in other parts of the world, as is the case in Singapore! Here, mynahs are some of the common "blackbirds" you can find; "blackbirds" in commas , because at least this species is not exactly black.
Common mynas are endemic to the country, but for what I've researched their numbers are less now since another mynah, the javan mynah, has been introduced to the country; so it's not the most frequent encountered mynah anymore.
The cool part, they don't seem that scared of humans and can be found easily in urban areas, so they're easy to spot. This was one of the first species I've seen in the country, as I visited a beautiful place called Gardens by the Bay. And there they were, enjoying the gardens as well!
They're very easy to identify, due to that yellow eye patch, and the brownish body together with white tail tips.
My camera has a decent zoom, but they were really near, scouting the grass in search of their next meal. And during the search breaks, they were human watching (me)!
Mynas are invasive species, and they can be found in many places nowadays, including Portugal - I can see crested mynahs on a nearly daily basis where I live. But it's always nice to see them where they're originally from.
Wishing a 2025 full of bird sightings for everyone!
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