Common Hill Myna

Open encyclopedia reference

The common hill myna (Gracula religiosa), sometimes spelled "mynah" and formerly simply known as the hill myna or myna bird, is a species of starling found in the hills of South and Southeast Asia. The Sri Lanka hill myna, a former subspecies of G. religiosa, is now generally accepted as a separate species G. ptilogenys. The Nias hill myna (G. robusta) are also widely accepted as specifically distinct, and many authors favor treating the southern hill myna (G. indica) from the Nilgiris and elsewhere in the Western Ghats of India as a separate species.

The common hill myna is a popular talking bird. Its specific name religiosa may allude to the practice of teaching mynas to repeat sacred prayers. The common hill myna is one of the most commonly spotted birds in Asian aviculture.

Wikipedia contributors, Common hill myna; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:58.628095+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Gracula religiosa Linnaeus, 1758

Name authority

Linnaeus, 1758

Common name

Common Hill Myna

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Sturnidae

Genus

Gracula

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familySturnidae Rafinesque, 1815
11. genusGracula Linnaeus, 1758
12. speciesGracula religiosa Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gracula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 103 records assigned to Sturnidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Linnaeus, & Carolus. (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, 10th Edition, Vol. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3H5CX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.