Please myna your manners

28th December 2004

By CARMEN GREIVE

AN aggressive, invasive bird is threatening to cut native bird and mammal populations across south-east Queensland.

The Indian or common myna bird, introduced to Australia in the 1800s, has infiltrated suburban back yards in the past two years, according to Queensland Museum ornithologist Greg Czechura.

In Ipswich, the environmental pest has moved from the city fringe to inner suburbs and is far more common.

Complaints to the museum have dramatically increased along with enquiries about cane toads and Asian house geckos, Mr Czechura said.

"In the past you might have seen one or two (myna birds) every now and again. What's happening now is they're becoming 24/7, 365 days of the year and they're all over parks and gardens," he said.

The myna, not to be confused with the native noisy miner which is grey in colour, is a socially aggressive bird that overtakes tree hollows and evacuates its occupants including possums and lorikeets.

Native bird and mammal populations would decline if the "population explosion" was not addressed, Mr Czechura said. The feral bird can also impact on households.

Mynas are known to nest in house eaves, posing a fire hazard, and can cause lice infestations.

Mr Czechura said urban development, earmarked for Ipswich, would further compound the problem by adding to habitat competition.

A comprehensive trapping program appears to be the only effective method of culling the birds.

Although the situation was not yet critical, Mr Czechura said it should be addressed before it reached that point.