20-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - BALI MYNA (Leucopsar rothschildi)

The Bali myna is a beautiful almost wholly white bird with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail. The bird has blue bare skin around the eyes, greyish legs, and a yellow bill. Both males and females are similar in appearance. The Bali myna is one of the rarest birds in the world. It is critically endangered and fewer than 50 adults are assumed to currently exist in the wild.

Bali mynas are native to the island of Bali (and its offshore islands) in Indonesia. They inhabit dry forest, shrubland, tree and palm savanna, and flooded savanna woodland. In the past, they also inhabited coconut groves near villages.

Bali mynas are diurnal but very secretive birds. In their natural habitat, they are inconspicuous. They use treetops for cover and usually come to the ground only to drink or to find nesting materials; this would seem to be an adaptation to their noticeability to predators when out in the open. Bali mynas often gather in groups when they are young to better locate food and watch out for predators. At night, they roost communally in small groups of up to 6 birds. These birds communicate with a variety of sharp chattering calls and an emphatic twat. When alarmed, they utter tschick, tschick, tschick.