Ceylon Hill Myna

The Sri Lanka Mynah differs from the Hill Mynah by being slightly larger and having only a single pair of wattles on its head. Commonly recognized calls include hyu, piau and peeoo both of which are shrilly whistled in a carrying high-pitched voice.

These birds are largely restricted to the wet zone forests of the central hills, between altitudes of around 300 and 1,600 meters. These mynahs usually travel in pairs or small groups of up to about six individuals, congregating however, in much larger numbers whenever a suitable tree is in fruit. Their diet consists almost entirely of fruits, in search of which they sometimes descend on to smaller trees. Otherwise, this is a canopy bird almost never coming down to the forest floor.

There are two breeding seasons, from March to May and again in August-September. Nesting is in tree hollows, usually high (7 – 15 meters) above the ground. Two lightly-spotted or blotched greenish blue eggs are laid, each about 33 x 25 mm. No nesting materials are used, the eggs being deposited on bare wood.