They make intelligent and affectionate pets as they can learn to greet their owners in several languages. Certainly it has been some surprise to be to see how space on the internet is devoted to them. However, common mynas are not as good at learning to imitate human speech as the Indian hill myna, Gracula religiosa , which is an accomplished mimic. The Myna is a medium sized chocolate-brown bird with a black head and neck, about 25 cm tall, with a black head and neck, a yellow beak, eye patch, feet and legs. White wing patches are obvious when the birds are flying.
Mynas are distinctive because, unlike most other birds, they walk rather than hop.
The Acclimatisation Societies and private individuals between 1870 and 1877 introduced several hundred birds into New Zealand, mainly to the South Island. Mynahs persisted in the South Island until about 1890. They were once numerous in the southern part of the North Island but now are mainly found in the northern North Island farmland, orchards, and suburban gardens. They rarely venture far into forests but can be common on the forest edge. The move north is generally attributed to their prefernce for a warmer climate, although W.R.H. Oliver quotes those who thought it due to the increase in the numbers of starlings.