they are no longer found in Canada (in the wild). For the unexpected reason, see this article: Myna's swan song saddens Vancouver
Quite a pity; I imagine many people would much rather they stuck around and that it was their cousin which faltered! That said, the European Starling is in dire straits in many parts of its native region at present, whilst the Crested Myna is faring okay in southeast Asia, so perhaps not....
If the starling is in trouble in its native range, we've got roughly a few million spares in North America y'all are welcome to.
For a similar but non-avian example of irony where it pertains to invasive species declining in their native range, the European Rabbit is classified as Near Threatened, and the native population in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa has declined by 95% since 1950.
As for the ban on wild birds imported into Europe I give you Javan Green Magpie,which were not captive bred!
Interesting happy to admit when I am wrong! And also happy to know there *is* scope for wild birds to be imported into collections if the need arises, of course.
Already a little older but evenso very intresting and usefull, a manual for starling-keeping : http://www.riverbanks.org/subsite/pact/sturnids.pdf
Intresting article about the breeding of the Emerald starling at Disney's Animal Kingdom : https://journals.tdl.org/watchbird/index.php/watchbird/article/download/1819/1793 ( anybody who knows if the species is still kept / bred at Disney's Animal Kingdom ? )
The work Cinananga Wildlife Center is doing with the Black-winged starling : Cikananga Wildlife Center - Black-winged Starling
Everytime I read your posts I die of envy, vogelcommando! Just to see 32 species of starlings in worldwide zoos along an entire life is an impossible dream. But you don't just saw them but also cared for them!!!!!! With your incredible historial would be difficult to help you with more info that those you already have. But as a sort of ridiculous contribution I will tell you the starling species that I've seen outside European collections: Black-collared starling (Sturnus nigricollis) in a small cage in the street, in Pekin (Beijing) Black-winged starling (Sturnus melanopterus) at Taipei Zoo Emerald starling (Lamprotornis iris) at San Diego Zoo Golden-breasted starling (Cosmopsarus regius) at San Diego Zoo Golden-fronted myna (Ampeliceps coronatus) at San Diego Zoo Greater blue-eared glossy starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus) at San Diego Zoo Jungle myna (Acridotheres fuscus) at Taipei Zoo Metallic starling (Aplonis metallica) at San Diego Zoo
In Australia we're pretty limited with options. Common Starlings and Common (Indian) Mynas are feral pests in the eastern states. I saw my first Metallic Starlings, a native species, in Taronga Zoo only a few years ago when they acquired some, but not seen them elsewhere in Australia. The only other 'native' species is the Singing Starling (Aplornis canteroides) which is found on Boigu and Saibai Islands, which are only six kilometres from the PNG coast. And I can't recall seeing any other starlings in Australia. But worldwide I've seen nine species in captivity and seventeen species in the wild. Hix
It is easy to clear up the confusion here. A quick search for the Regulation is easy. The relevant section is Article 2 ScopeThis Regulation shall apply to animals of the avian species. However, it shall not apply to: (a) poultry; (b) birds imported for conservation programmes approved by the competent authority in the Member State of destination; (c) pet animals referred to in the third paragraph of Article 1 of Directive 92/65/EEC, accompanying their owner; (d) birds intended for zoos, circuses, amusement parks or experiments; and so on.
Thank you very much for your reply Kakapo ! I would have thought starlings are kept much more commonly in American and ( especialy ) in Asia !
32 species of starlings is not yet record score! I personally saw 40 species of starlings in captivity, and I think are a lot of people at the forum that saw even more species.
In the 1980-ties / 1990-ties have heared several times rumors about "large-scale" Hill-mynah breeding centers in South-east Asia ( Thailand, Indonesia ? ) but never found any more concrete about them. Does anybody if these breeding-station have existed or maybe even still exist ?
I doubt they were actual captive breeding centers. Hill Mynahs were often taken from the nest and hand reared for the pet trade I believe, and that sounds more likely.
