Birdy Blogging in March

Birdy Blogging has been by me - at least up to now - a sort of avian paean of praise.

I love birds.

But today I'm Birdy-Blogging an unsavoury little character, the Indian Mynah.

Brought to this country by Indian workers around the turn of the last century, exhibit A is an aggressive, loud, arrogant feathered fiend..err..friend who has been categorised as an Invader Pest both here and in Oz and, I believe, on Hawaii also.

They nest in your eaves, and displace the native birds.They have been known to devastate crops and certain indigenous vegetation, and we all just want them to go away.

When we moved into our house in September 2003, the first thing we did - before we'd moved any furniture into it - was to conduct an exorcism and cleansing ceremony, complete with black candles and repulsive incense.

When we'd finished, there was a long line of these buggers perched on the fence, just looking at us with baleful yellow-rimmed eyes.They didn't come back for a while.

But eventually they returned.They irritate the hel out of our dogs- four beefy, macho Pit Bulls - by swooping on them with raucous screeches.I've heard they terrify cats this way too.

Sigh. I'm not going the poison route, but something should be done to get rid of these airborne rodents.

My partner is suggesting an air rifle. I dunno-we tried a catapult but they just laughed and ducked every missile.

The last time we borrowed an air rifle the mynahs were completely and suddenly absent.

I could just imagine them crouched under the eaves, making shushing noises at each other and giggling.