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Rail Staff Say Two Common Mynas Regularly Ride Sydney Trains

Two common mynas in Chatswood, Sydney
Research · Behaviour

Two common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) were filmed sitting calmly inside a Sydney train, and rail staff described the birds as regular passengers on part of the North Shore Line. ABC News reported the observation on 4 September 2026 after journalist Jackie Dent recorded the pair during a Sunday-morning journey.

Dent boarded at Roseville and initially thought the birds were trapped. At Chatswood, however, a train guard told her that staff knew the birds and said they regularly travelled between Lindfield and Artarmon before returning. The trip between those stations takes about seven to ten minutes.

The account suggests repeated train use, but it does not establish exactly what the birds have learned. ABC News documented Dent’s filmed journey and the guard’s account; it did not report any test of how the birds choose when to leave the train. Staff speculated that announcements, lights or warning chimes might provide cues, but none of these possibilities was tested.

Sean Dooley of BirdLife Australia described the episode as consistent with the common myna’s ability to adapt to human environments. The species is strongly associated with towns and cities in its introduced Australian range and readily uses human-provided food and structures. The Sydney observation is therefore a striking example of urban behavioural flexibility, while claims of a learned timetable or specific navigation cues remain unverified.

Sources and image credit

  1. Corvo, S. (2026, September 4). Common myna birds travelling on Sydney trains go viral on social media.Primary news report documenting Jackie Dent's video of two common mynas inside a Sydney train, a train guard's account that staff regarded them as regular passengers between Lindfield and Artarmon, and Sean Dooley's interpretation of the behaviour as consistent with common myna adaptability. The report does not establish individual identity across repeated journeys or test the cues used by the birds.

Image: Two common mynas in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia, 20 May 2021. Photo: Sardaka / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative local image from one of the stations named in the train story; not the two birds filmed on the train. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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