Dunnock relatively lower success for females. In times of scarcity, female territories expand to accommodate the lack of resources, causing males to have a more difficult time monopolizing females. Hence, females gain a reproductive advantage over males in this case. The dunnock possesses variable mating systems. Females are often polyandrous, breeding with two or more males at once, which is quite rare among birds. This multiple mating system leads to the development of sperm competition amongst the male suitors. DNA fingerprinting has shown that chicks within a brood often have different fathers, depending on the success of the males at monopolising
Common myna are regularly observed to usurp nests and hollows, destroy the eggs and kill the young of native bird species including seabirds and parrots. There is evidence that Mynas have killed small land mammals such as mice, squirrels and possums, but further research on these occurrences are under consideration. In Sanskrit literature, the common myna has a number of names, most are descriptive of the appearance or behaviour of the bird. In addition to "saarika", the names for the common myna include "kalahapriya", which means "one who is fond of arguments" referring to the quarrelsome nature of this bird; "chitranetra", meaning