White-necked Myna

The white-necked myna is a large, long-tailed starling whose black-and-white pattern has led to the old names Celebes magpie and Sulawesi magpie. The upperparts and crested head are glossy purple-black, a broad white collar spreads over the mantle and breast, and the long graduated tail and legs are black. Southern birds of the nominate subspecies have a yellow-tipped bill, whereas the northern subspecies torquata has an entirely black bill (Wikipedia account; Guardian species profile).

This resident is endemic to Sulawesi and some adjacent islands, where it occupies primary and secondary lowland forest. It eats fruit and invertebrates and sometimes takes small vertebrates, chiefly lizards. Birds occur in pairs or small groups and may join mixed-species feeding flocks. They nest in cavities, favouring holes in dead trees, although the accessible account provides no clutch or incubation figures. The sexes look alike, and juveniles of the nominate form show less yellow on the bill (Guardian species profile).