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Bank myna, the myna that nests in river banks
गंगा मैना
The bank myna is a slate-grey myna of the north Indian plains with a patch of brick-red bare skin behind the eye, where the common myna has yellow. It takes its name from its nests: colonies dig burrows into vertical earth banks of rivers, embankments and open wells, so a noisy group of them usually means raw earth and water nearby.
A slate-grey myna of river edges, smaller and greyer than the common myna, with a patch of bare brick-red skin behind the eye. It is a bird of the river bank rather than the garden.
👀 How to recognise it
The bare skin behind the eye is orange-red, not yellow as on the common myna; the legs are yellow and the eye dark red. In flight a pale buff wing patch flashes. They move in flocks, usually near water or cattle.
Where to see it
Vrindavan
The name is literal. Bank mynas dig their nest burrows into vertical earth walls (river banks, embankments, the sides of open wells), so a colony marks a stretch where the Yamuna still has raw earth edges instead of stone.
Bhandirvan (Bhandir Vat) · Keshi Ghat (often)
Bank myna or common myna?
The two are close relatives and often feed side by side, so the eye patch is the quickest test: brick-red on the bank myna, yellow on the common myna. Beyond that, the bank myna is smaller and noticeably greyer, with a black crown and sides of the head, a slaty back, paler grey underparts with a pinkish tinge towards the belly, yellow legs and a deep red iris. Males and females look the same; young birds have a browner head.
The voice is a busy mix of clucks, croaks, screeches, whistles and warbling notes. Flocks perch on cattle and buffalo and pick insects, and sometimes ticks, off them, which is often the easiest way to spot a group in open country.
Why it needs earth banks
The nesting season runs from April to July or August, with most birds breeding in May and June. The birds dig the tunnel themselves, and the egg chamber can lie 4 to 7 feet (roughly 1.2–2 m) from the entrance. A clutch is usually four or five pale sky-blue eggs, and a pair may raise two broods in one season. Where earth banks are missing, the birds sometimes use holes in brick walls or gaps between stacked sugarcane bales.
This is why riverbanks matter: a stretch of the Yamuna lined with stone steps holds no colony, while an earth bank beside it can hold one. In Vrindavan the burrow-digging weeks fall from April to August, and the birds stay through the year.
Where to see it in India
The bank myna belongs to the plains of northern and central India, from the Indus valley in the west to the Ganges delta in the east and south of the Himalayan foothills. It lives near open water, in farmland and in towns, and flocks work markets, rubbish heaps and railway stations for scraps. The old textbook limit ran roughly from Mumbai to Balasore in Odisha, but the bird is spreading: records from further south in India have been increasing since 2000.
In Vrindavan look along the Yamuna below Keshi Ghat, where the birds feed on the sand and around the cattle, and scan the earth banks on either side of the steps for nest holes. The river flats and grazing ground at Bhandirvan, across the Yamuna, are the other reliable spot.
Status and protection
Globally the bank myna is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. In India it is protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act: the 2022 amendment lists it in Schedule II, so hunting or trapping one is prohibited. Outside the subcontinent it has been introduced to Kuwait, where it now lives wild, and flocks have turned up in the Maldives, Taiwan and Japan.
❓ FAQ
What is the bank myna called in Hindi?
Ganga maina (गंगा मैना). Around Vrindavan people also call it dariyai maina.
How do I tell a bank myna from a common myna?
Look at the bare skin behind the eye: brick-red on the bank myna, yellow on the common myna. The bank myna is also smaller and greyer.
Where can I see bank mynas in Vrindavan?
Along the Yamuna below Keshi Ghat and on the river flats at Bhandirvan. They are there all year; the nest burrows are dug from April to August.
What do bank mynas eat?
Grain, insects and fruit. They follow grazing cattle for disturbed insects and pick up scraps in markets and around railway stations.
Is the bank myna protected in India?
Yes. It is listed in Schedule II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act as amended in 2022, so it may not be hunted or trapped.