Bali Mynah

Conservation Status: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Common Name: Bali Mynah, Rothschild’s mynah, Bali starling
Scientific Name: Leucopsar rothschildi
Type: Bird
Diet: insects, fruits
Length: 25 cm
Weight: 75 – 95 g

With only a 100 adults estimated to be in the wild, the Bali mynah is another species that is at the brink of extinction.

The Bali mynah has a pure white plumage with a jet black tail and wing-tips and bright blue skin that surround its eyes, almost appearing as if it is a palette swap of the Javan mynah. The beautiful appearance of the bird, however, is precisely what drive the species towards extinction.

There were an estimated 350 birds in the West Bali National Park in the 1980s, and over 400 cage-bred birds were released into the park to increase their numbers during the 1990s. However, the estimated number of Bali mynahs have fallen to less than 10 by 2005. This decline was caused primarily due to poachers responding to the lucrative demand for rare birds in the caged bird market.

Currently, there are roughly 1,000 Bali Mynahs that exist in captivity around the world, and there have been attempts to return the population to the wild through captive breeding programs. However, there seems to be more that has to be done to protect these birds from caged bird market poachers.

References:

1. “Leucopsar Rothschildi (Bali Myna, Bali Starling, Rothschild’s Mynah, Rothschild’s Starling, White Starling)”. Iucnredlist.Org, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22710912/0.
2. “The National Aviary – Bali Mynah (Leucopsar Rothschildi)”. Aviary.Org, https://www.aviary.org/animals/Bali-Mynah.