- Pycnonotus jocosus
Identification
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Amboli, Alt. 22-2500 ft., Western Ghats, Dist. Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, India, 10 February 2019
18–20·5 cm (7-8 in)
- Brown upper-parts
- White underparts
- Buff flanks
- Dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level
- Tall pointed black crest
- Red face patch
- Black moustachial line
- Long brown tail with white terminal feather tips
- Red vent
Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults.
Distribution
Asia: Pakistan, India, south-east Asia and China.
They have been introduced to many areas, including Australia, Hawaii, Florida, and California.
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Lodha Aurum Grande, Urban Residential Society Garden, Kanjurmarg, Mumbai, India, Maharashtra, India, 18 September 2024
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 9 subspecies[1]:
- P. j. fuscicaudatus: West India (Tapiti River to Kerala and northern Madras)
- P. j. abuensis: West India (northern Bombay to south-western Rajasthan)
- P. j. pyrrhotis: Valley of Nepal and northern India (eastern Punjab to Bihar)
- P. j. emeria: Lowlands of eastern India to Myanmar and south-western Thailand
- P. j. whistleri: Andaman Islands
- P. j. monticola: East Himalayas from Sikkim to northern Myanmar and south-western China (Yunnan)
- P. j. pattani: Thailand to northern Malaya and southern Indochina
- P. j. hainanensis: North Vietnam and south-eastern China (southern Guangdong); Naozhou Island
- P. j. jocosus: South China (Guizhou to Guangxi, eastern Guangdong and Hong Kong)
Habitat
Lightly wooded areas, open country with bushes and shrubs.
Behaviour
Breeding
They build their nest in a bush; the clutch consists of 2-3 eggs.
Diet
Their diet consists of fruit (particularly lantana berries), nectar, flower buds and insects.
Vocalisation
Early morning call
Recording by louisaslater
Waikiki, Hawaii
Recording by Alok Tewari
Two individuals moving through mid-size bushes and communicating alongside a busy highway, late afternoon.
Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, India, October-2016.
Pleasant song consists of rich, echoing, warbled phrases.
Recording by Alok Tewari
Lodha Aurum Grande, Urban Residential Society Garden, Kanjurmarg, Mumbai, India; 18 September 2024 ... 10.41 am.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2017)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-whiskered Bulbul. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-whiskered_Bulbul
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
