Indian (Common) Myna
A pair of Indian Mynas can raise around ten chicks a year, and every one of those chicks needs somewhere to nest — usually a tree hollow a native bird was using first. Here's how to tell a myna from a native miner, and what actually reduces their numbers.
Last updated September 2026
Photos: supplied
A small bird with an outsized impact
The Indian Myna, Acridotheres tristis, was brought to Melbourne in the 1860s to help control insects in market gardens. It didn't stay where it was put — it's now established along most of the eastern seaboard and is ranked among the world's 100 worst invasive species by the IUCN. Wildlife carers dealing with it around the country have taken to calling it "the cane toad of the sky."
Where they are now. Mynas are established across eastern and south-eastern Australia, and current mapping shows the population still spreading — south into Queensland, and west across Victoria and New South Wales. Tasmania has no established population: since 2004 there have been six confirmed incursions (five in Devonport, one in Launceston, both port towns where birds are believed to have arrived by ship), and every one has been detected and eradicated by the state government before it could take hold. It's a reminder that early reporting genuinely works — the same logic behind reporting sightings through FeralScan's MynaScan tool here on the mainland (see the tab).
The species' patchy legal status — a declared pest in Western Australia and the ACT, but left to individual councils and volunteers elsewhere — has left much of the actual control work to grassroots effort. A June 2026 ABC News report covered Queensland wildlife carers and community groups running their own bounty and trapping programs, and the frustration behind why they've had to. It's the same pattern behind community action here in the Yarra Ranges.
Mynas nest almost exclusively in cavities — tree hollows, roof spaces, gaps under eaves, disused pipes. That puts them in direct competition with every native hollow-nesting species in the district: rosellas, kookaburras, treecreepers, pardalotes, and the possums and gliders that also depend on hollows. Mynas are highly aggressive around a nest site they want: they'll evict eggs and nestlings from an occupied hollow, and have even been observed building a new nest directly on top of one still in use, smothering the eggs or chicks beneath it.
The aggression isn't limited to hollows. Mynas are territorial year-round, and will mob and harass other birds well beyond anything to do with a nest site — chasing them away from feeding areas, roosts and open airspace in general, in the same way they push in on a hollow. This has been documented against birds considerably larger than a myna, including kookaburras and dollarbirds, and against small mammals such as possums and gliders. Once a group of mynas has pushed another species out of a patch of habitat, they tend to breed up quickly and hold that ground, which is part of why an area can flip from "a few mynas around" to "hardly any other birds left" faster than the population numbers alone would suggest.
Tree hollows are also slow to form — a eucalypt typically needs well over a hundred years before it develops hollows suitable for nesting. A landscape can lose hollow-nesting native birds far faster than it can grow replacement hollows, which is what makes this a genuine long-term threat rather than a seasonal nuisance.
Beyond the hollow competition, mynas damage ripening fruit — grapes especially, but also berries, stonefruit and pome fruit — and cereal crops such as maize, wheat and rice where these occur near urban areas, which matters in a district with working vineyards and orchards. Roosting and nesting close to homes creates aesthetic and health concerns: mynas are known to carry avian malaria and exotic parasites such as the Ornithonyssus bursa mite, which can cause dermatitis in people. Their large, untidy nests — built from sticks, straw and whatever rubbish is on hand — are a recognised fire risk where they're packed into a roof space or eave cavity, and give mites a direct route into the house. They also help spread the seed of environmental weeds through their droppings — including Lantana camara, classed as a Weed of National Significance because of how invasive it is.
Outside the breeding season, mynas gather at communal night roosts, favouring dense-canopied trees. In Australian cities these roosts have been recorded at up to several thousand birds, though most local roosts are far smaller — typically a few dozen. Roosting close to houses brings loud calling at dawn and dusk and a build-up of droppings underneath.
Why it compounds. Mynas are intelligent, adaptable birds and prolific breeders. A pair can raise two or three broods a season, most of which survive to breed themselves the following year. Population modelling by the Dubbo Indian Myna Control Program suggests a single unchecked pair could grow to more than 15,000 descendants within five years, and over 90,000 by the sixth — and every hollow a myna holds along the way is one a native species can't use that season.
"You can have native birds, or Indian Mynas — but not both."
— Ian Fraser, naturalist
What's already happening across the Yarra Ranges
Community action on mynas in this part of Victoria goes back to the 2009 bushfires, when landholders in the northern Yarra Valley noticed mynas returning to burnt areas faster than native birds could. That observation led to a community trapping program modelled on an earlier one in Canberra, and to trap-building workshops run with support from Yarra Ranges Council.
More recently, Yarra Ranges, Cardinia and Knox councils have run joint community sessions on reducing myna numbers, with input from rangers who manage nest box programs at scale and have watched mynas move into boxes intended for native species. Yarra Ranges Council maintains its own page on common (Indian) myna control, covering identification and prevention for residents across the shire.
Working together: mynas don't respect property boundaries, and a coordinated effort across neighbouring blocks does far more than the same effort scattered across one. Steels Creek Landcare encourages neighbours to coordinate on shared problems like pest animals and weeds. To talk to someone locally, get in touch or join the group.
Worth checking carefully before you do anything
The Indian Myna is very often confused with the Noisy Miner, a native Australian honeyeater with a similar name and a similar grey colouring. They are not related, and only one of them is a pest. Getting this wrong matters — the Noisy Miner is a protected native species.
Dark head, yellow patch
A dark brown to black head and throat, with a bare, bright yellow patch of skin around the eye and a yellow bill.
Chocolate-brown body
The body is a warm brown, noticeably darker and browner than the Noisy Miner's pale grey.
White wing patch in flight
A conspicuous white flash on the wing, visible when the bird takes off or lands — useful when it won't sit still.
Yellow legs and feet
Bright yellow legs and feet, matching the bill and eye patch.
A distinctive hop
Mynas hop rather than walk when moving across the ground, usually in small to large groups.
Turquoise-blue eggs
If checking a nest box or hollow: among the birds likely to be using one locally, only the myna lays distinctly blue eggs.
Myna or Miner? Telling them apart
Indian (Common) Myna
Acridotheres tristis · a starling relative from South Asia, introduced in 1862. Dark brown-black head, chocolate body, bright yellow bill/legs/eye-patch, white wing flash. Not protected — no permit is needed to trap or remove it.
Noisy Miner
Manorina melanocephala · a native honeyeater. Pale grey overall with a black cap, a small patch of bare yellow skin behind the eye, and yellow legs/bill. Protected in every Australian state — it must never be trapped, and any control of Noisy Miner numbers requires a permit.
| Indian Myna | Noisy Miner (native) | |
|---|---|---|
| Body colour | Dark chocolate-brown | Pale grey |
| Head | Dark brown to black, glossy | Black cap only, grey face |
| Bare skin patch | Large, bright yellow, around the whole eye | Small, yellow, behind the eye only |
| Bill and legs | Bright yellow | Yellow-orange |
| Family | Starling family (introduced) | Honeyeater family (native) |
| Legal status | Not protected — feral pest | Protected native species |
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If in doubt, don't trap. Noisy Miners can also be aggressive and are sometimes disliked for that reason, but they are a protected native species and trapping or harming one is an offence. When you can't tell the two apart with confidence, wait, look again, or ask someone before doing anything.
Make the property less attractive, first
Trapping deals with the mynas already there. Reducing food and nest-site access is what keeps new ones from moving in behind them — and it's the part every property can do without a permit or a trap.
Cut off easy food
Feed pets indoors, or clear the bowl as soon as they've finished — mynas are strongly drawn to pet food, especially meat-based biscuits. Cover compost, secure bin lids, and clear food scraps after eating outdoors.
Rethink chicken feed
Feed poultry pelleted feed rather than scraps or grain where possible — mynas will happily clean up spilled grain but have little interest in pellets. Keep feed bins covered.
Don't feed native birds
Seed or nectar left out for native birds gets taken by mynas too. If you want to support native birds, planting for them (see below) does more good than a feeder.
Block nesting gaps
Seal gaps under eaves, in roof voids, and around vents where mynas can get into a building cavity. Check first that nothing else — a possum, a native bird — is already using the space.
Choose roosting trees carefully
Dense, thickly-foliaged trees such as pencil pines make favoured night roosts for flocking mynas. Where possible, favour more open native canopy species instead.
Monitor nest boxes
Check nest boxes intended for native species regularly, especially through the August–March breeding season. Distinctive turquoise-blue eggs or sticks-and-rubbish nesting material mean a myna has moved in — remove the nest promptly, before eggs hatch.
Retain and add hollows. The strongest long-term defence is simply having more good nesting options for native species than mynas can occupy. Retain old trees with hollows wherever safe to do so, and where nest boxes are used, a narrower entrance keeps mynas out while still suiting smaller native hollow-nesters. The Canberra Indian Myna Action Group's rosella nest box design uses a 65mm entrance hole, small enough to exclude mynas — a useful size reference if you're building or buying boxes locally.
Trapping is legal, but it has to be done properly
Indian Mynas are a feral, unprotected species in Victoria, so no permit is required to trap them on your own property. That doesn't remove the responsibility to do it humanely and correctly.
The process, step by step
Restrict other food sources
For several days first — pet food, bins, chicken feed — so mynas are actually motivated to visit your bait.
Choose bait carefully
Dry dog food kibble or meat-based pet biscuits work best — worth trying a few brands. Avoid seed, grain or bread, which attract native birds you don't want in the trap. Refresh bait every few days; wet food spoils fast.
Free-feed with the trap propped open
For several days before it's ever set to catch, on a flat white surface — an ice-cream lid or a white plate both work (a plate is heavy enough not to blow around). This lets mynas get comfortable moving in and out freely first.
Bait and set the trap
A sparse trail through the tunnel, with the bulk of the bait visible but out of reach until a bird is fully inside.
Approach only in low light
Early morning, dusk, or after dark — never in full daylight. Mynas learn fast and will avoid a trap they've seen a person handle.
Check morning and evening
Shadecloth over the top and partway down the sides of the containment chamber, plus food and fresh water at all times. Traps need to be large enough for a bird to stretch its wings freely.
Confirm the species
Before releasing or euthanising anything — any native bird goes straight back out.
Disconnect the containment side
A two-chamber trap lets you separate it for euthanasia without disturbing birds still feeding.
Euthanise promptly and humanely
Within 24 hours of capture. Accepted methods vary by state — see the breakdown below.
Community trapping programs across the Yarra Ranges typically use a two-chambered cage trap with a feeding compartment and a separate containment chamber, baited with food mynas find hard to resist — meat-based pet biscuits are a common choice. A one-way valve lets birds move from the feeding side into the containment side but stops them getting back out. The PeeGee trap plans, developed and shared by the Canberra Indian Myna Action Group, are a well-established DIY design built from wire mesh and cable ties — a reasonable starting point if building your own.
Building isn't the only option. Ready-made traps are also sold online and by some Landcare groups and councils. As a rough guide: DIY materials (mesh, cable ties, tie wire) typically run to around $50–$100 from a hardware store, and take somewhere in the order of 2–4 hours to build — more or less depending on how comfortable you are working with wire mesh. Ready-made commercial traps generally sell for roughly $150–$250. Prices and times vary by design and supplier, so treat these as ballpark figures rather than quotes.
Search for Indian Myna traps Australia to compare current sellers and prices — we don't endorse a particular supplier here.
Getting mynas used to the trap first
Tweed Shire Council's guide to running a Pee Gees trap sets out a staged approach worth following regardless of which trap design you use: restrict other food sources first so the birds are actually motivated to visit your bait; "free-feed" at the chosen spot for several days on a flat white surface (an ice-cream container lid works) before the trap is even present, so mynas learn the spot is safe; then introduce the trap itself, still free-feeding, before finally baiting it to trap. Mynas need to be seen taking the bait at each stage before moving to the next — rushing this is the most common reason a trap sits empty.
Worth knowing for a rural or semi-rural property like most of the Yarra Ranges: Clarence Valley Conservation in Action's own trapping handbook notes that the full staged free-feeding process mainly matters in built-up areas. On rural and semi-rural sites, free-feeding tends to draw in more native birds rather than fewer, so their guidance is to skip most of the staging and go straight to baiting the trap once other food sources are restricted — adjust the approach above if that matches what you're seeing.
Mynas are intelligent, social birds — how you approach the trap matters. They can quickly learn to associate a trap with a person if it's approached repeatedly in full view during the day, and will then avoid it. Research on this exact species (Griffin & Boyce 2009; Diquelou & Griffin 2019) has found mynas learn socially to recognise and avoid a trap after watching what happens to other birds around it. Set and check traps in low light — early morning, dusk, or after dark — rather than walking up to one during the day. Get this wrong early and the whole trap becomes far less effective for the rest of the season.
Caller birds. A myna already in the trap acts as a strong lure for others — their presence and calls draw more birds down to investigate, and the bait does the rest. Both the Tweed Shire and Clarence Valley guides recommend keeping a small number of trapped birds in the holding chamber as callers (sometimes referred to as decoy or "Judas" birds) rather than removing every bird immediately, provided they're kept with food, water and shade like any other trapped bird.
Confirm the species before releasing anything from a trap, or removing anything from a hollow. If a Noisy Miner or any native bird is caught, it must be released unharmed. Recheck against the comparison on the tab if there's any doubt. Reported non-target catches elsewhere have included Magpie-larks, Crested Pigeons and Satin Bowerbirds, so it's not always mynas alone in a trap.
Humane handling and disposal
Animal welfare obligations apply to any trapped animal, including a declared pest. Trapped birds need food, water and shade if they're not checked and dealt with quickly, and euthanasia must be prompt — within 24 hours of capture — and humane. The national standard operating procedure for trapping pest birds sets out the nationally accepted approach. Some older or informal guides describe a quick method using cooled car or lawnmower exhaust (around a minute), but accepted methods genuinely vary by state, and rules change, so check current guidance for where you are. At the time of writing:
| State | Position |
|---|---|
| Victoria | Gas methods (carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide) aren't currently supported. The department recommends an injection of barbiturates by a veterinarian, or cervical dislocation carried out by someone trained and competent to do it. |
| NSW | The Department of Primary Industries explicitly states it doesn't consider car exhaust gas an acceptable method. |
| ACT | Gas methods are supported. |
| Queensland | No clear official state position found on this specific method — check with a local vet or council before choosing one. |
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Where your state doesn't specify otherwise, NATSOP-BIR002 is the national standard to follow. If you're not confident carrying any of this out yourself, several regional groups and councils can advise before you start — see the Resources tab.
Found a chick that's been evicted from a hollow? If it's still alive, place it in a cardboard box lined with soft cloth or leaf litter and keep it somewhere dark and quiet — add a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel if it's unfeathered. Don't try to feed or water it yourself. Contact your state's wildlife emergency line, all 24/7:
- Victoria — Wildlife Victoria, (03) 8400 7300
- NSW — WIRES, 1300 094 737
- Queensland — RSPCA Qld, 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625)
- ACT — ACT Wildlife, 0432 300 033
Steels Creek Landcare doesn't currently run its own myna trap-loan program. Several community groups and councils across the Yarra Ranges do — see the Resources tab for where to start. If that changes, this page will be updated with local details.
Record myna activity in FeralScan
A free national tool for anyone who notices what is happening around them.
FeralScan is a free national recording tool covering mynas, deer, foxes, rabbits, feral cats, wild dogs, pigs and more. MynaScan is the mynas part of it. It works on a computer, an iPhone or an Android device, and everything you log feeds into a shared picture of where mynas are and what they're doing.
You do not need to own land to use it. FeralScan is free for anyone — concerned citizens as much as landholders, alongside Landcare and community groups, local councils, professional pest controllers and biosecurity organisations. A sighting from a walking track, damage noticed on a weekend visit, a photo taken from a rented block: all of it counts, and all of it goes into the same map. Some of the most useful records come from people who are simply out looking at things.
Individual sightings are almost worthless on their own. A hundred of them across a valley, with dates and locations, are something a control program can be built on. That is the whole idea — turning scattered observations into a picture of where the pressure actually is.
Sightings and evidence
Mynas you've seen, plus photos — including nesting sites and communal roosts, which are the records most useful for targeting control.
Damage
Fruit and crop damage, hollows or nest boxes taken over from native species, nesting in roofs and eaves.
Control activity
What you've done and what it achieved — trapping, nest removal and other measures.
Your details stay private. Your name and contact details are never published. Records you log are visible to you, to any MynaScan group you've chosen to join, and to the government departments involved in pest control and biosecurity. Sightings feed the national map anonymously — the observation goes into the database, but it isn't publicly attributed to you, and your neighbours don't see your property's records unless you join a group with them.
What you get out of using it
- Build a map of myna activity across your property or local area to guide where control effort goes
- Work with your neighbours on genuinely coordinated control rather than isolated effort
- Create a private group for your neighbours or a community action group
- Notify your local community or landholder group about nesting sites and myna hotspots
- Alert authorities to mynas turning up somewhere new — a rural town they haven't reached before
Creating a private group for your neighbours or a community action group Why a shared map beats four separate ones
MynaScan lets a group be created to collect records and report on monitoring and control within a defined area. Members see each other's records on a shared map, which is exactly what a neighbourhood needs if it wants to understand what it is actually dealing with.
It matters for mynas because they are a flocking bird. A communal roost draws in birds from well beyond the property it sits on, so a single landholder trapping alone is working against a catchment they cannot see. A group covering a handful of adjoining properties will show you where the roost actually is — which is the record that makes control work.
You can set a group up through the MynaScan site. If a Steels Creek group would be useful to you, get in touch — this is the sort of thing that only works if a few neighbours start at once.
The bigger picture: MynaScan records are one of the main evidence sources used to decide where control programs and funding are directed. Under-reporting in an area can make it look like there isn't a problem there. It's the same logic behind Tasmania's eradication record — early reports are what make a response possible.
Three steps to your first record
Install it
Add the FeralScan app to your phone, or just use the MynaScan website on a computer. Installation guides: Apple (PDF) · Android (PDF)
Record something
Log a sighting, a photo of a nest or roost, damage, or control work you've done. Register with your name or just an email address — it takes a minute.
Three things worth knowing: it works with no signal, you can attach a photo from the camera, and be accurate with the location.
Join or create a group
Link up with neighbours so you can see the same picture and coordinate. Contact the MynaScan team through the site to set one up.
Instructions and support
How to use MynaScan
- About MynaScan
- Frequently asked questions
- Handy resources & trap construction
- Health and safety when recording in the field
- Uploading many records at once — bulk template for groups with a backlog of sightings
Related guides
- Help prevent the myna bird invasion (PDF) — FeralScan flyer, including the myna vs Noisy Miner comparison
- MynaScan homepage for CIMAG — an example of what a community group's own MynaScan page looks like
Who's actually losing out
Mynas don't compete with wildlife in the abstract — they compete with specific birds and insects that live across the Yarra Ranges. Modelled on a similar sheet produced by the Canberra Indian Myna Action Group, but built around species genuinely recorded in this shire, drawn from the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas and the state's Flora and Fauna Guarantee threatened species list.
Real conservation stakes, not abstract ones
All hollow-nesters, all listed as threatened under Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, and all recorded in the Yarra Ranges Shire — competing directly with mynas for the same large, old tree hollows.
Callocephalon fimbriatum · the signature cockatoo of the Dandenong and Yarra Ranges. Nests high in large, old eucalypt hollows — exactly the hollows mynas also seek out. Learn more →
Ninox strenua · Australia's largest owl, and one of the more elusive residents of the Yarra Ranges' forested gullies. Needs very large, old hollows that take well over a century to form. Learn more →
Ninox connivens · named for its dog-like bark, and one of the rarer owls recorded in the shire. Nests in large hollows in open forest and woodland. Learn more →
Tyto novaehollandiae · a large, ghostly pale owl that nests deep in hollows in old-growth trees — the same trees under the heaviest development and clearing pressure. Learn more →
Tyto tenebricosa · a dark, forest-dependent owl of the Yarra Ranges' wetter gullies, also reliant on large hollows in old trees. Learn more →
It's not only birds losing hollows
Every hollow-nesting mammal and reptile in the district is competing for the same limited resource. These three mammals and one reptile are also listed as threatened in Victoria and recorded in the Yarra Ranges Shire.
Gymnobelideus leadbeateri · Victoria's faunal emblem, found in the Central Highlands ash forests that stretch into the Yarra Ranges, and entirely dependent on old hollow-bearing trees. Learn more →
Petauroides volans · nationally endangered. Yarra Ranges Council's own artificial hollow monitoring has recorded this species using the new hollows installed after the 2021 storms. Learn more →
Phascogale tapoatafa · a small, fast-moving carnivorous marsupial that dens in tree hollows by day, also known as the Tuan. Learn more →
Varanus varius · Victoria's only large tree-dwelling monitor, and the one reptile on this list. Shelters in tree hollows and large old trees. Learn more →
The everyday species losing ground
None of these are formally listed as threatened, but they're the hollow-users most people will actually watch get displaced from a nest box or a tree hollow in their own garden.
One of the most familiar hollow-nesting parrots in the district, and a frequent casualty of myna nest box takeovers. Learn more →
Another common local hollow-nester, competing directly with mynas for the same tree cavities. Photo: Monina Gibey. Learn more →
A large hollow-nester, and one of the few able to hold its own against a myna — but still loses hollows to sheer myna numbers. Photo: Adrian Tritschler. Learn more →
A migratory hollow-nester present through the warmer months, when it's also competing hardest for nest sites. Photo: miguelpardos. Learn more →
A small hollow- and burrow-nester, common in local bushland and an easy target for a bird many times its size. Photo: Erica Siegel. Learn more →
Forages up tree trunks and nests in hollows and cracks in the district's wetter forest — the same trees mynas favour. Photo: Eric Schiff. Learn more →
Common local hollow-dependent gliders. Both have been documented being chased out of hollows by mynas, alongside the birds mynas more usually target. Learn more →
The same problem, further from home
The Yarra Ranges isn't the only part of the state where this plays out. Two hollow-nesting parrots elsewhere in Victoria show the same pressure, in landscapes very different from ours.
Neophema pulchella · found in north-east Victoria's box-ironbark woodlands and east Gippsland, not here. Ovens Landcare Network has run a project specifically addressing the risk Indian Mynas pose to this species' hollows. Photo: Chris Tzaros. Learn more →
Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides · found along the Murray River and Mallee in Victoria's north-west, nesting in deep hollows in large river red gums. Photo: Dylan Goldspink. Learn more →
Not just birds
Mynas are true omnivores with a broad insect diet — beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, butterflies, caterpillars, flies, bees, wasps, ants and termites all feature. Most of what they eat is common and unremarkable. One threatened Victorian insect has a specifically documented connection.
Synemon plana · a day-flying moth recorded in the Yarra Ranges Shire, whose native grassland habitat is under pressure from multiple directions. The Canberra Indian Myna Action Group specifically names this species among those mynas prey on. Photo: Meredith Dairy. Learn more →
Being honest about the rest of the list. Victoria has other threatened insects — the Eltham Copper Butterfly among them — but their conservation problems are generally about habitat loss, fire, and highly specific relationships with a single host plant or ant species, not myna predation. The clearer story with mynas and insects generally isn't a long list of threatened species being eaten; it's that displacing the small native birds which normally keep insect populations in check can shift the balance for common insects too, in ways that are hard to pin to one species.
Links and further reading
The agencies with the official guidance, the guides worth reading, and the community groups where most of the practical trapping knowledge actually lives.
Browse by category
Government information
- Common (Indian) Myna — Yarra Ranges Council, our shire
- Myna birds species profile — NSW Department of Primary Industries. Detailed biology, breeding and impact information
- Invasive plant and animal fact sheets — Queensland Department of Primary Industries. Indian myna is listed among the species fact sheets; no dedicated standalone page like NSW's
- Agriculture Victoria — no myna-specific page, but the department responsible for pest animal policy in the state
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) — Victoria's environment department, whose euthanasia-method position is cited via YIMAG above
- Overview of the common (Indian) myna — PestSmart
- Common Myna species profile — Atlas of Living Australia. Taxonomy, records and distribution data
- Common Myna — BirdLife Australia. Species profile from Australia's largest bird conservation organisation
Fact sheets and guides
- Fact Sheet #1 — Indian Myna (PDF) — CIMAG. Species overview, threat status and what people can do
- Fact Sheet #2 — For Schools (PDF) — CIMAG. A simpler version for younger readers, useful for school or group education
- Indian Myna Control Booklet 2021 (PDF) — NSW Local Land Services. A comprehensive guide covering identification, behaviour, trapping procedures, humane euthanasia and reporting
- Indian Myna Project Handbook (PDF) — Clarence Valley Conservation in Action. Detailed trapping, euthanasia and reporting procedures, plus advice on handling native chicks evicted from hollows
Trap plans and nest boxes
- PeeGee myna & starling trap plans (PDF) — Canberra Indian Myna Action Group. A well-established DIY design built from wire mesh and cable ties
- Guide to Trapping — using a Pee Gees trap (PDF) — Tweed Shire Council. Step-by-step free-feeding process, bait choices and what to do if ibis start hanging around
- How to make a rosella nesting box — CIMAG. Dimensions for a 65mm entrance hole, small enough to exclude mynas
- Handy resources & trap construction — MynaScan
Humane control standards
- National Standard Operating Procedure — Trapping of pest birds (PDF) — PestSmart / Centre for Invasive Species Solutions. Sets out the accepted humane approach, including euthanasia method
Videos
- What Bird Is That? Myna vs Miner — BirdLife Australia
- Indian Myna Birds — A Pest Species
- Cage Trapping of Indian Myna Birds
- How to Build a PG Trap for Indian Mynas — Ron Smith, CIMAG
- How to Make an Indian Myna Trap — QMDC, step-by-step trap-building demonstration
- How to Trap Indian Mynas — Bill Handke, Canberra Indian Myna Action Group
- How to Catch / Trap and Exterminate / Euthanise Indian Myna Birds — a detailed step-by-step walkthrough; the euthanasia method it shows (lawnmower exhaust) isn't supported in Victoria, so check the state table on the Trap tab before following that part
- Pest Profile Webinar — Indian Mynas
Community action groups
- Yarra Indian Myna Action Group (YIMAG) — a Victorian action group with detailed, Victoria-specific trapping and euthanasia guidance
- Canberra Indian Myna Action Group (CIMAG) — long-running, well-documented trap and nest box designs. Canberra-based; not a Victorian trap-loan program
- CIMAG fact sheets
- Directory of community control groups — CIMAG. Includes contacts for groups across regional Victoria
- Indian myna video library — Clarence Valley Conservation in Action Landcare
- Indian Myna brochure (PDF) — Northern Bendigo Landcare Group. A Victorian Landcare group running its own low-cost trap-supply program, with the same reduce food / reduce habitat / boost native habitat structure as this page
Wildlife identification & recording
- SWIFFT — State-wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams. Victorian threatened species profiles and distribution information, used throughout the Under Threat tab
- Atlas of Living Australia — national species records, taxonomy and distribution maps
- iNaturalist — a community app for identifying and recording any species you photograph, not just mynas
For orchards, vineyards & gardens
- Managing Bird Damage to Fruit & Other Horticultural Crops (PDF) — PestSmart
In the news
- Frustration over approach to dealing with Indian myna driving grassroots action — ABC News, June 2026. Bounty programs, patchy state pest declarations, and why so much of the control effort falls to volunteers
Other pest animals
- Pest animals — all our species guides
