Asian Myna

The Asian Myna is the most famous talking bird in the Philippines. They are known in mimicking sounds and words from people who they often heard. They do not understand what they are saying and just keeps on repeating the canned words in random moments.

The size of this feathered animal ranges from 6 to 17 inches in height. Is among the starling family of birds or scientifically termed as Sturnidae, the songbird family. This Myna is a high flier songbird. It has a slightly curved bills, long and pointed wings and hard black colored feathers. Their legs and feet are extremely strong which can carry a prey in the air with ease. They can be  commonly found in Asia and very rare in the western countries.

In the wilderness, the Asian Myna mostly do not fly in groups since they are usually aloft and tends to be alone. They hardly feed on small animals, and insects since their staple food are fruits. A very ripe papaya is their most favorite meal.

This bird is one of the best pet to be kept at home since they are not hard to take care and  are fun to be with except on the noise they make.

To train these birds, it would be best to own it when it is still young and put it in a secluded place where only you can talk to them, in this manner no external sources of sounds or words will fill their photographic memory and you will have the grandeur to teach them what words you want them to talk.

As you enter the gates of Cebu Zoo, you would be delighted to hear the first animal speaking the sentence "How are you?" in Cebuano. The bird will say:"Kumusta ka kyaw" ("kyaw" is a what this bird is typically called in Cebu) . Sometimes it can be heard saying "Hello"  which is obviously what it often heard from the zoo visitors.


Here is the actual footage video of the talking bird: