Javan mynas, also known as white-vented mynas, are native to Java and Bali. They are believed to have been introduced in Singapore in 1920, when there were records of species arriving here as a result of the caged bird trade. Now Javan mynas are the most commonly found bird in Singapore.

Globally, the Javan myna is listed as a species vulnerable to extinction. There are only between 2,500 to 9,000 left in the bird’s native range. In Singapore, the species may seem abundant, but the population has actually been on the decline. The population went from 220,000 in the 1980s to 139,000 in the early 2000s.

An omnivore adept at exploiting a wide range of food sources, the Javan myna is highly adaptable in a range of habitats from cities and urban centres to palm plantations and rice fields.

In 2012, a hawk from the Jurong Bird Park was brought to the vicinity, but had been too intimidated by the large number of mynas.

In a 2016 Discovery Channel documentary, Man Vs Bird, it is reported that there were three kinds of birds in Orchard Road and they had divided the area into three vertical tiers: with crows roosting at the tops of trees, starlings and mynas in the middle, and pigeons at the bottom. It is a lesson in co-existence that humans could do well to learn.