They're nearly as cunning as crows but thanks to trapping in Canberra, only the really smart ones have survived. An action group has trapped 45,000 Indian mynas since 2006, but they are spreading elsewhere. Invasive and adaptive, they have been catching ferries to Tasmania.
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So the man who declared war on them in 2006, Bill Handke, is bringing the big guns to Canberra on Wednesday, including a researcher who has studied the myna's intelligence, adaptability and risk aversion.
Research by Andrea Griffin of Newcastle University has delved deeper into mynas co-existence with humans in highly urbanised environments, which has sharpened their ability to escape traps.
Mr Handke said the penny dropped some time ago with the clever intruder. ''In Canberra there is a level of trap shyness and that's because we have trapped all the naive ones. Only the smart, wary ones are left. They're teaching their young ones not to go near the traps.''
The action group's last conference in 2009 at Nowra lead to 27 local councils adopting their low-cost trapping strategy, which encourages communities and volunteers to get involved in backyards.
On Wednesday Brisbane City Council, and 20 others from NSW and Victoria, as well as action groups will attend a conference at the CSIRO's Discovery Centre, which will produce an online resource for interested interstate groups.
Mr Handke said mynas were found in Tasmania about two months ago.
''One was seen hopping off one of the ferries from Melbourne at Devonport, and flying into the Port of Devonport. If one is there, others have probably come the same way. It just happened that a bird watcher noticed this and reported it.''
Speakers on Wednesday will include Co-operative Research Centre chief executive Professor Tony Peacock and international guest Susana Saavedra, who will tell of eradicating mynas on several islands.
Ms Saavedra said: ''We have seen around the world that mynas drastically affect native birds, so if Australians want to maintain a vibrant Australian native bird population, you must remove the mynas.''
Mr Handke said the Victorian Scientific Advisory Committee's Martin O'Brien would speak on mynas impact on native fauna.
Mr Handke described as bizarre Victoria's declaration of the native noisy miner as a pest animal but not the Indian myna. ''There are a lot of bird people totally puzzled by Victorians listing the noisy miner as a threat without simultaneously listing Indian mynas as a threat as well.''
A survey by the Canberra Ornithologists Group indicated mynas were the third most common bird in Canberra when the action group started seven years ago. Mynas are now listed as the 20th most common bird in Canberra.
