Yellow-vented Bulbul | Pycnonotus goiavier personatus | Burung Merbah Kapur
Even though they are unrelated, look very different, and live on separate continents, the Yellow-vented Bulbul and the Rufous-collared Sparrow are very similar.
How so? When you arrive for the first time where they live, they are initially exciting to see. Then you see them a second time, and it's still a special treat. Then, there they are again. Great, you have quickly mastered the visual identification and vocalizations of a new species! Then a bird flits by and you get your binoculars on it, anticipation growing of seeing something new. But it's a Yellow-vented Bulbul/Rufous-collared Sparrow.
Soon it becomes apparent that every second bird in Malaysia / South America is, respectively, a Yellow-vented Bulbul or a Rufous-collared Sparrow. Depending on your personality, you either come to love the bird as the epitomy of a new land, or resent it as an annoying distraction. After many, many years and repeated visits to Malaysia and South America, I finally quite like both of these species. But it took a while.
Yellow-vented Bulbul | Pycnonotus goiavier personatus | Burung Merbah Kapur
Even though they are unrelated, look very different, and live on separate continents, the Yellow-vented Bulbul and the Rufous-collared Sparrow are very similar.
How so? When you arrive for the first time where they live, they are initially exciting to see. Then you see them a second time, and it's still a special treat. Then, there they are again. Great, you have quickly mastered the visual identification and vocalizations of a new species! Then a bird flits by and you get your binoculars on it, anticipation growing of seeing something new. But it's a Yellow-vented Bulbul/Rufous-collared Sparrow.
Soon it becomes apparent that every second bird in Malaysia / South America is, respectively, a Yellow-vented Bulbul or a Rufous-collared Sparrow. Depending on your personality, you either come to love the bird as the epitomy of a new land, or resent it as an annoying distraction. After many, many years and repeated visits to Malaysia and South America, I finally quite like both of these species. But it took a while.