- Pycnonotus jocosus
Identification
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.
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
<flashmp3>Red-whiskered Bulbul Voice 001.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Early morning call
Recording by louisaslater
Waikiki, Hawaii
<flashmp3>Red-whiskered_Bulbul_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
Two individuals moving through mid-size bushes and communicating alongside a busy highway, late afternoon.
Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, India, October-2016.
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. (2024) Red-whiskered Bulbul. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-whiskered_Bulbul
External Links