Javan Myna

Overall Coloration:  The base color of the body plumage differs somewhat, but also varies within species.  Typically: Great is close to jet-black; Crested tends to show some gray tones; Javan is dark slaty-gray with a blacker hood; and Jungle is medium slaty-gray with some brown tones and a more contrastingly black hood.

Tail and Vent Color:  Great, Javan, and Jungle all have mostly white undertail coverts and extensively white tail feathers, whereas Crested’s undertail coverts and tail feathers are narrowly tipped with white.  Great typically appears jet-black overall, so its white undertail contrasts more sharply than the others’.

Eye Color:  Although eye color is somewhat variable and lighting-dependent, and therefore not always reliable, it can be helpful for confirmation.  Great’s eyes usually appear dark-brown, or reddish when illuminated.  Javan and Jungle usually show pale-yellow or whitish or sometimes bluish-white eyes.  Crested’s eyes are consistently medium-orange, paler than Great’s and darker than Javan and Jungle’s.

Bill and Leg Color:  Great, Javan, and Jungle Mynas all have roughly matching yellowish-orange bills and legs—although Jungle differs in that its bill is strongly bicolored, with a black base.  Crested’s bill is pale greenish-yellow (or ivory or “horn-colored”) and its legs are orange, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.  The colors of both its bill and its legs differ from those of the others, and they differ from one another.

Crest Shape:  Crest shape may be helpful in some cases, but it is often ambiguous because all four species can have short crests.  Among typical adults, Great’s crest is longer and spikier than any of the others, and Crested has the next-longest crest feathers.  Javan and Jungle’s crests are shorter, but resemble the crests of young Great and Crested.