Gracula

Taxonomy

The genus Gracula was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The genus name is from Latin graculus, an unknown bird sometimes identified as the western jackdaw. Of the seven species listed by Linnaeus, George Gray designated the common hill myna (Gracula religiosa) as the type species.

Until recently only two species were recognised, G. religiosa and G. ptilogenys. Previously, all Gracula were considered to belong to a very variable species commonly called the hill myna. Three additional subspecies of G. religiosa are increasingly being considered as distinct species. Formerly, the Sri Lanka hill myna was considered to be a subspecies of the common hill myna, but today all major authorities recognise them as separate. Comparably, the Enggano, Nias, Tenggara, and southern hill mynas have traditionally been treated as subspecies of the common hill myna; a treatment still preferred by some authorities.

Species

Four extant species are recognized:

A 2020 study found that the subspecies G. religiosa miotera or Simeulue hill myna, which is endemic to Simeulue, Indonesia and has not been recognized in recent taxonomic arrangements aside from HBW (Handbook of the Birds of the World), also likely represents a distinct species and was likely driven to extinction in the wild in the late 2010s due to unsustainable collecting for the wildlife trade. The paper recommends rescuing the last genetically pure captive individuals for the purpose of captive breeding.

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Gracula:

• Magpie-lark (as Gracula picata)