Rama Krishna Sangem
BRS Rajya Sabha MP J Santosh Kumar this Sunday, June 18, posted on Twitter a click of a pair of Brahminy Mynas or Brahminy Starlings. This is part of his Weekly Dose of Photography activity for the last few months. He tweeted them at 7.30 am, and by 6 pm, they got 3,895 likes, 242 likes and 53 retweets!
This shows the growing popularity of Santosh’s photos of birds every weekend. People fed up with daily grind and scorching hot summer find it a relief to see the beautiful birds on twitter. Otherwise, social media is a radiated jungle.
Santosh, founder of Green India Challnege (GIC) made it a point, however, busy his schedules may be, to post pics of wildlife on Sunday mornings. We must appreciate his commitment to his chosen cause.
Cute Brahminy Mynas
Our bird lovers informed Excel India that these cute Brahminy Mynas are balcony birds or garden guests. They are commonly sighted at parks and gardens in Hyderabad and Telangana. For that matter, in entire Indian subcontinent. They are called with different local names, though their binomial name is Sturnia Pagodarum.
“Some call them sunbirds while others mistake them for jungle sparrows, but these are basically from starlings family,” said RJ Reddy, a retired forest officer from Mahabubnagar. Most Hyderabadi’s call them Brahminy Mynas.
These tiny yet intelligent birds which move in pairs or groups, mostly thrive on small insects, warms etc or nectar of flowers or nuts and seeds. They are, as of now, not endangered, but some catchers pose a threat to their survival.
People admire them for their beautify mix of colours – pale beak, yellowish body, blue or black head-top and golden plumage. But, like all birds, these tiny avian love their freedom!
We must encourage our children and school students to study further on these birds and their habitations and behavior so that they learn to protect them.
Good to see these little cuties amidst us.
