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Questions About My Special Interest

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ImAnAspie
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12 Jan 2015, 3:45 pm

corroonb wrote:
It's quite a specific interest but if you observe the species regularly then it's quite understandable.


No, it wasn't like that. They've been around me all my life. I'd seen them but had the same level of interest in them as everyone else (none).
And then one day, Mum tells me about this ugly Starling that landed on the kitchen window sill. As she described what it looked like, I said they were Myna birds and she didn't believe me so I Googled them and the rest is history :)

I like ravens too.


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cyberdad
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12 Jan 2015, 4:58 pm

ImAnAspie wrote:
I do know they were introduced to the Melbourne Market Gardens around 1862 and later on in Queensland in 1883 but as to whether they made it here on their own, that's interesting. I'd never heard of that before.


Following them getting stuck in my chimney I rang the local council and spoke with a biologist. He explained that Indian Mynahs in Victoria can't be harmed and have the same status as native birds because there is a likelihood they found their way south themselves from PNG hundreds of years ago.

ImAnAspie wrote:
I'm really pleased to see there's another Aussie out there that doesn't hate them.
Did you know you can teach them to talk (mimic)? They're quite good 'talkers'.

Yes, they are impressive, just for fun they imitate lawnmowers and drills. I think they are quite intelligent. I am a little concerned that since they arrived in my garden they scared away the pretty little blue wrens...



ImAnAspie
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12 Jan 2015, 5:09 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
Live in the leafy suburbs of Washington DC, USA. In the middle of the US temperate zone. We have winter. Not Monsoons. So the natural environment here is not much like the Indian homeland of myna birds.


I do know they exist in Hawaii and Florida. There are vids on YouTube about a woman who lives in Hawaii and she has a talking Common Myna called Kaleo.


naturalplastic wrote:
The National Zoo probably has them in captivity.


They'd want to be careful. I read a story once where they escaped from a zoo and then they spread like wildfire.

naturalplastic wrote:
When I was a kid in the Sixties Americans began to hear about myna birds in the media as pets. They were famous for being "beyond parrots" as mimics- they not only could be taught to speak words- they supposedly can outdo Rich Little in mimicking the sound of your voice. ...Ofcourse I am assuming that the myna birds you're talking about are the same variety as the talking ones. Maybe you're obsessed with some boring non talking variety.


The type of Myna that was common in the sixties in America (for memory) was the Greater Indian Hill Myna. They're mostly black all over with a yellow to reddish bill. They're also great talkers.

Here's a video of Kaleo, the talking Common/Indian Myna Bird from Hawaii:



(May not work. We can't get YouTube here at work. It's blocked)

naturalplastic wrote:
What do I think of myna birds as a special interest?

Well...obviously you need to be beaten with a cane, and given shock treatment!


LOL. I'll pay that one! :)

naturalplastic wrote:
Only when you spend more time watching "Keeping Up with Khardashians" (like normal people) than you do reading about myna birds will you be considered "cured"!


Cured - NEVER. Actually, I've heard of the Khardashians. I've even heard of Kim Khardashian but I wouldn't know them even if I tripped over them. I don't watch TV, read newspapers or watch the news. No interest.


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Your Aspie score: 151 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 60 of 200
Formally diagnosed in 2007.
Learn the simple joy of being satisfied with little, rather than always wanting more.


Last edited by ImAnAspie on 12 Jan 2015, 5:26 pm, edited 7 times in total.

managertina
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12 Jan 2015, 5:14 pm

I have think it is awesome you like birds more than the Kardashian family exploits. Having said that I will have to Wikipedia them as I only know their exploits from tabloids. Used to have an interest in budgies myself.



ImAnAspie
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12 Jan 2015, 8:30 pm

managertina wrote:
I have think it is awesome you like birds more than the Kardashian family exploits. Having said that I will have to Wikipedia them as I only know their exploits from tabloids. Used to have an interest in budgies myself.


I don't even know about their exploits. I don't even know what they look like.

Apart from physically being here, I really don't live in this world. It was embarrassing when someone mentioned that jet airliner that went down in December and I had no knowledge of it.


Myna Birds are welcome in my backyard. The Khardashians aren't.


_________________
Your Aspie score: 151 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 60 of 200
Formally diagnosed in 2007.
Learn the simple joy of being satisfied with little, rather than always wanting more.