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One of the very few disappointing moments lam and I experienced on our recent trip to KNP was the sighting of 2 Common Mynas (Acridotheres tristis) or Indian Mynas at the Punda Maria camp's waterhole. Has anyone seen these dreadful birds that far north before ?

Hi. It was nice to meet you on our recent trip.

And no, I have not seen them up there. I think I have seen them twice in recent years but I think it was south of Satara.

Richard

Please tell me you reported it straight away. They need to be removed.

I've seen them at the Baobab toll plaza just south of Musina but not in the park itself. If I remember correctly we also saw them on the farms surrounding Mapungubwe.

Unfortunately I didn't. I had reported bad behaviour by a visitor earlier in the week (had photographs of them out of their vehicle) and was told there was nothing they could do (this has happened twice so I wasn't particularly motivated to do any more police-work).

Ja, I know what you mean. Last thing I want to do on holidays is police other people.
This is a completely different story though.
On which day was this? Maybe we could still get the info to the ranger and they can keep an eye out for them.

Last week Wednesday at midday.

We were camping at the fence next to the waterhole when they flew from the eastern side of the camp to the waterhole. They settled in a Mopane in the camp first (which is where I saw them) and then went to drink at the waterhole before continuing westwards.

Hi guys, I don't know to much about the behaviour of Common Mynas. Why do they need to be moved?

Hi leopardspotter, long time no see

Here's some info on the Mynas: Alien invasive birds

Common Mynas are aggressive alien invaders that invariably displace local species in the areas in which they gain a foothold. AFAIK, the policy in KNP is to destroy them on sight.

Another useful article

interesting article j-ms...find it interesting that they haven't found conclusive evidence that Mynas are in fact a threat to biodiversity.

I asked Owl to have a look at this thread on Thursday and he has sent the details to KNP's Alien Invasive Unit. They'll then take the necessary steps.

Thanks Johan.

What about crows, hadedas and European starlings, aren't they also bad news for SA.

????

Crows ? Pied, Black and White-necked are all indigenous while House Crows have limited distribution in SA.
Hadedahs ? This is one of the archetypal birds of Africa !
European (Common) Starlings are to my mind a menace.