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The red-vented bulbul(Pycnonotus cafer) is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Tibet.
The red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Tibet. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world and has established itself in the wild on several Pacific islands including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Hawaii. It has also established itself in parts of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the United States and Argentina. It is included in the list of the world's 100 worst invasive alien species.
Taxonomy and systematics:
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red-vented bulbul in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He used the French name Le merle hupé du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Merula Cristata Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the red-vented bulbul. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Turdus cafer and cited Brisson's work. The red-vented bulbul does not occur in Africa. The type location was later changed to Sri Lanka and then in 1952 designated as Pondicherry in India by the German naturalist Erwin Stresemann. The specific epithet cafer is New Latin for South Africa. This species is now placed in the genus Pycnonotus that was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in
Two formerly designated races, P. c. nigropileus in southern Burma and P. c. burmanicus of northern Burma, are now considered as hybrids.
Subspecies
Eight subspecies are recognized:
Central Indian red-vented bulbul (P. c. humayuni) - Deignan, 1951: Found in south-eastern Pakistan, north-western and north-central India
Punjab red-vented bulbul (P. c. intermedius) - Blyth, 1846: Originally described as a separate species. Found in Kashmir and Kohat down to the Salt Range and along the western Himalayas to Kumaon.
P. c. bengalensis - Blyth, 1845: Originally described as a separate species. Found in the central and eastern Himalayas from Nepal to Assam, north-eastern India and Bangladesh
P. c. stanfordi - Deignan, 1949: Found in northern Burma and south-western China
P. c. melanchimus - Deignan, 1949: Found in south-central Burma and northern Thailand
P. c. wetmorei - Deignan, 1960: Found in eastern India
P. c. cafer - (Linnaeus, 1766): Found in southern India
P. c. haemorrhousus - (Gmelin, JF, 1789): Found in Sri Lanka
Description:
The red-vented bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. The rump is white while the vent is red. The black tail is tipped in white. The Himalayan races have a more prominent crest and are more streaked on the underside. The Race intermedius of the Western Himalayas has a black hood extending to the mid-breast. Population bengalensis of Central and Eastern Himalayas and the Gangetic plain has a dark hood, lacks the scale like pattern on the underside and instead has dark streaks on the paler lower belly. Race stanfordi of the South Assam hills is similar to intermedius. The desert race humayuni has a paler brown mantle. The nominate race cafer is found in Peninsular India. Northeast Indian race wetmorei is between cafer, humayuni and bengalensis. About 20 cm in length, with a long tail. Sri Lankan race haemorrhous (=haemorrhousus has a dark mantle with narrow pale edges. Race humayuni is known to hybridize with Pycnonotus leucogenys and these hybrids were once described as a subspecies magrathi marked by their pale rumps and yellow-orange or pink vents. In eastern Myanmar there is some natural hybridization with Pycnonotus aurigaster.
Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults. The typical call has been transcribed as ginger beer but a number of sharp single note calls likened as pick are also produced. Their alarm calls are usually responded to and heeded by many other species of bird.
Melanistic as well as leucistic individuals have been noted. An individual with aberrant colour form was observed in Bhavans College Campus, Andheri, Mumbai.
Distribution and habitat:
This is a bird of dry scrub, open forest, plains and cultivated lands. In its native range it is rarely found in mature forests. A study based on 54 localities in India concluded that vegetation is the single most important factor that determines the distribution of the species.
It has been introduced into Hawaii and Fiji. They were introduced to Samoa in 1943 and became common on Upolu by 1957. Red-vented bulbuls were introduced to Fiji around 1903 by indentured labourers from India. They established on the Tongan islands of Tongatapu and Niuafo'ou. They were introduced into Melbourne around 1917 but were not seen after 1942. They established in Auckland in the 1950s but were exterminated[28] and another wild population that was detected was exterminated in 2006. In 2013 more were found, and authorities offered a $1000 reward for information that led to a bird's capture. They prefer the dry lowland regions in these introduced regions. They are considered as pests because of their habit of damaging fruit crops. Methiocarb and ziram have been used to protect cultivated Dendrobium orchids in Hawaii from damage by these birds. These birds learn to avoid the repellent chemicals.They can also disperse the seeds of invasive plants like Lantana camara and Miconia calvescens.
Behaviour and ecology:
Red-vented bulbuls feed on fruits, petals of flowers, nectar, insects and occasionally geckos. They have also been seen feeding on the leaves of Medicago sativa.
Red-vented bulbuls build their nests in bushes at a height of around 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) two or three eggs is a typical clutch. Nests are occasionally built inside houses or in a hole in a mud bank. In one instance, a nest was found on a floating mat of Water hyacinth leaves and another observer noted a pair nesting inside a regularly used bus. Nests in tree cavities have also been noted.
They breed from June to September. The eggs are pale-pinkish with spots of darker red more dense at the broad end. They are capable of having multiple clutches in a year. Nests are small flat cups made of small twigs but sometimes making use of metal wires.] The eggs hatch after about 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks and on feeding trips wait for the young to excrete, swallowing the faecal sacs produced. The pied crested cuckoo is a brood parasite of this species. Fires, heavy rains and predators are the main causes of fledgling mortality in scrub habitats in southern India.
Their vocalizations are usually stereotyped and they call throughout the year. However, a number of distinct call types have been identified including roosting, begging, greeting, flight and two kinds of alarm calls.
They are important dispersers of seed of plants such as Carissa spinarum.
The red-vented bulbul was among the first animals other than humans that was found to be incapable of synthesizing vitamin C. However a large number of birds were later found to likewise lack the ability to synthesize vitamin C.
Like most birds, these bulbuls are hosts to coccidian blood parasites (Isospora sp. while some bird lice such as Menacanthus guldum (Ansari 1951 Proc. Natl. Inst. Sci. India 17:40) have been described as ectoparasites.
Along with red-whiskered bulbuls this species has led to changes in the population dynamics of butterfly morphs on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Here the population of white morphs of the Danaus plexippus butterfly have risen over a period of 20 years due to predation of the orange morphs by these bulbuls.
In culture:
In 19th-century India these birds were frequently kept as cage pets and for fighting especially in the Carnatic region. They would be held on the finger with a thread attached and when they fought they would seize the red feathers of the opponents.
Indians frequently tame it and carry it about the bazaars, tied with a string to the finger or to a little crutched perch, which is often made of precious metals or jade; while there are few Europeans who do not recollect Eha's immortal phrase anent the red patch in the seat of its trousers.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical areas of the world where populations have established themselves. It feeds on fruits and small insects and they conspicuously perch on trees and their calls are a loud three or four note call. They are very common in hill forests and urban gardens within its range.
Dark day but this Red-vented Bulbul let me get a few snaps of it before it flew off in Pune, India.
Red-vented Bulbul were observed in numerous places throughout India.
(Nikon D500 + 300mm F4 PF Lens)
Handheld
Dark-Capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor) 20 cm;39g. Zwartkloof Private Game Reserve, Bela Bela (Warmbaths), South Africa.
Pycnonotus aurigaster
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Kotilangbülbül
Bulbul Ventridorado
Золотобрюхий настоящий бюльбюль
Merci pour vos commentaires - Thank you for your comments
Our Land Nature Reserve, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Contact me on jono_dashper@hotmail.com for use of this image.
Pycnonotus leucogenys- WHITE-CHEEKED BULBUL . It is found in Kuwait, Bahrain, mid and southern Iraq, southern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-western India, in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and on the Arabian peninsula.
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer), Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji
It has been introduced into Hawaii and Fiji.
Source: Wikipedia
Red-whiskered bulbul [Pycnonotus jocosus (Linnaeus 1758)] in Kerala, India.
Wikipedia: "The red-whiskered bulbul is about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. It has brown upper-parts and whitish underparts with buff flanks and a dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level. It has a tall pointed black crest, red face patch and thin black moustachial line. The tail is long and brown with white terminal feather tips, but the vent area is red. Juveniles lack the red patch behind the eye, and the vent area is rufous-orange.
The loud and evocative call is a sharp kink-a-joo (also transcribed as pettigrew or kick-pettigrew or pleased to meet you and the song is a scolding chatter. They are more often heard than seen, but will often perch conspicuously especially in the mornings when they call from the tops of trees. The life span is about 11 years.
The breeding season is spread out and peaks from December to May in southern India and March to October in northern India. Breeding may occur once or twice a year. The courtship display of the male involves head bowing, spreading the tail and drooping wings. The nest is cup-shaped, and is built on bushes, thatched walls or small trees. It is woven of fine twigs, roots, and grasses, and embellished with large objects such as bark strips, paper, or plastic bags. Clutches typically contain two to three eggs. Adults (possibly the female may feign injury to distract potential predators away from the nest. The eggs have a pale mauve ground colour with speckles becoming blotches towards the broad end. Eggs measure 21 mm and are 16 mm wide. Eggs take 12 days to hatch. Both parents take part in raising the young. Young birds are fed on caterpillars and insects which are replaced by fruits and berries as they mature. The chicks are psilopaedic (having down only in the pterylae). Eggs and chicks may be preyed on by the greater coucal and crows.
They defend territories of about 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) during the breeding season. They roost communally in loose groups of a hundred or more birds.
The red-whiskered bulbul feeds on fruits (including those of the yellow oleander that are toxic to mammals), nectar and insects."
Pycnonotus leucogenys- WHITE-CHEEKED BULBUL . It is found in Kuwait, Bahrain, mid and southern Iraq, southern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-western India, in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and on the Arabian peninsula.
Pycnonotus leucogenys- WHITE-CHEEKED BULBUL . It is found in Kuwait, Bahrain, mid and southern Iraq, southern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-western India, in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and on the Arabian peninsula.
Sukau Backpackers Bed & Breakfast
Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia.
Pycnonotus goiavier gourdini Gray, GR, 1847
鳥綱 Class Aves
雀形目 Order Passeriformes
鵯科 Family Pycnonotidae
鵯屬 Genus Pycnonotus
Pycnonotus jocosus - Bulbul orphée - Red-whiskered Bulbul - REPUBLIQUE DE MAURICE - Cap Malheureux
Nom local : Le Condé
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) -juvenile .Taken last week,after rain.
Exif.1/250s f/7.1 at 420.mm,ISO 200
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Dark-capped Bulbul, Pycnonotus tricolor
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(Pycnonotus cafer)-The Red-vented Bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is resident breeder across the Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Tibet.The Red-vented Bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. The rump is white while the vent is red. The black tail is tipped in white.
This species is very similar in appearance to the Himalayan white-cheeked bulbul Pycnonotus leucogenys but smaller and uncrested and with a larger white cheek patch. It has a pale bare eye-ring. The vent is orange yellow. Sexes are alike.
It is found in scrub forest and gardenland. Also found in flocks or pairs in the mangroves, gorging on the fruits of the Meswak bush. Usually seen in pairs or small groups. It feeds on fruits and insects, and breeds in March–June.
In Iran, the natural habitat of the species is Khouzestan Province, in the southwest of the country where it feeds on dates and is generally considered a pest. Some also call it "The Bulbul of Tehran"