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Glite Dictionary
myna bird

myna bird

1 7.3
A tropical Asian bird with glossy black feathers that copies sounds
  • noun
  • /ˈmaɪnə bɜrd/
  • Indian
translation icon : myna

Examples

  • A cage full of left-wing Myna birds.

    Blog text (16)

  • Seemingly more at home are the introduced canaries and Indian myna birds.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The myna bird can mimic sounds, making it a popular pet for animal lovers.

  • In the garden, a myna bird sang beautifully, attracting the attention of nearby visitors.

  • At the wildlife sanctuary, we saw a myna bird cleverly copying the sounds of other birds.

Synonyms

mina
vsmyna bird
  • UK
5 9.9

A loud Asian bird like a starling often kept as a pet that can copy human speech

focuses more on glossy black plumage and sound imitation
mynah
vsmyna bird
  • Indian
2 8.9

A bird from tropical Asia that often copies human speech

adds emphasis on shiny dark feathers alongside vocal mimicry
myna
vsmyna bird
1 7.7

A bird like a starling from tropical Asia that makes loud calls and copies sounds

emphasizes glossy black plumage in addition to sound mimicry
mynah bird
vsmyna bird
  • Indian
1 7.5

A tropical bird from Asia that copies human speech and is often kept as a pet

adds the glossy black appearance to that vocal skill
minah
vsmyna bird
  • UK
9.9

A tropical bird that makes loud calls and copies sounds

is more specific about the shiny dark feathered look

Surface Forms

myna bird singular
myna birds plural

Morphology

myna + bird

The meaning is fully compositional: 'myna' denotes a particular kind of bird (a sound-mimicking species) and 'bird' is the general category, so the phrase simply names that species. Even if 'myna' alone already implies a bird, the combination is predictable and immediately understandable to a learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The name myna bird probably comes from the Hindi word 'mainā', and local people used myna for this common, noisy bird. When English speakers borrowed the word, they kept it, so today myna bird means a tropical Asian bird famous for copying sounds.