This is a common myna bird... known in its native India as the "Farmer's Friend".

But in Australia, they are known as "Garbage Birds" or "Flying Cane Toads", as they rampage their way through the country taking over the habitat of native birds and mammals.

The myna birds were brought into Queensland to rid the canefields of insects... and soon they were in all eastern states.

A survey in Canberra in 1990 showed that the mynas numbers had soared.

And now a much wider survey is being carried out by the Australian National University, throughout the eastern states, with survey forms being distributed through CSIRO's Helix Magazine.

The myna birds were brought into Melbourne in 1862 to help rid market gardens of insects, and now, like everywhere else, they have become the common thugs of the bird world, forcibly evicting native parrots from tree hollows and destroying eggs and chicks.

And scientists warn that the myna could become a national problem, comparable to the cane toad, the rabbit or the European carp.

So it's important to know more about them and how quickly the problem is growing.

Dr. Chris Tidemann from the Australian National University will collate the thousands of surveys, then work with conservation agencies in deciding what should be done about these noisy interlopers.

Chris Tidemann
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 2601
chris.tidemann@anu.deu.au

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