The black-winged mynas are thought be monogamous – pairs duet during the mating season in from March to May before laying a clutch of 3–4 sky-blue coloured eggs. Their melodious song, along with their lively temperament and striking plumage make them highly-prized in the cage bird trade. Formerly widespread throughout the island of Java, there are now fewer than fifty mature individuals left in the wild. The last few appear restricted to mangrove areas, where they are presumably harder to trap as compared to the cultivated fields and pastures they formerly flocked to.

The swift decline of this once ubiquitous species in slightly over a decade is strikingly similar to that of its close relative, the Bali myna. The two species sport the same snow-white plumage and it is thought that the black-winged myna’s burst in popularity was in large part due to the fact that it was sold as a replacement species for the increasingly rare and expensive Bali myna. Though protected under Indonesian law, both myna species continue to be illegally taken from the forests and sold openly in bird markets. Their extreme rarity only made them more desirable in the eyes of buyers.