Red-vented Bulbul - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies P. c. intermedius
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Uttarakhand Himalayas, Alt. 5200 ft, India, 8 April 2017

Pycnonotus cafer

Identification

19–20 cm (7½-8 in)

• Brownish-black upperparts
• White rump
• Brownish-black breast
• White underparts
• Red around the vent
• Black head and small bushy crest
• Long white-tipped tail
  

Sexes similar; young birds are duller

Subspecies P. c. humayuni
Photo © by Rajiv Lather
Karnal, India, June 2006

Distribution

Asia: found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and south-western China.

They have been introduced to many areas including Fiji, Hawaii, Texas, Bahrain, Argentina, Samoa,and Tonga. They are also commonly seen in urban parts of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies P. c. haemorrhousus
Photo © by kctsang
Sri Lanka, 5 July 2010

There are 8 subspecies^[1]:

• P. c. intermedius: Himalayas (western Pakistan to western Uttar Pradesh)
• P. c. humayuni: Pakistan (Salt Range) and north-western India
• P. c. bengalensis: central and eastern Himalayas, the Gangetic Plain, and Bangladesh
• P. c. wetmorei: North-eastern peninsula India
• P. c. cafer: peninsular India
• P. c. haemorrhousus: Sri Lanka
• P. c. stanfordi: Northern Burma to extreme south-western China (western Yunnan)
• P. c. melanchimus: South-central Burma (Mandalay to Rangoon)

Habitat

Scrub, open dry deciduous woodland, plains and cultivated land, orchards and gardens.

Behaviour

Breeding

They builds their nest in a bush; the clutch consists of 2-3 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes fruit, buds, nectar, insects and invertebrates.

Vocalisation

A very noisy species

Recording by Alok Tewari
Janakpuri, Delhi, India, Sep.-2016
Call recorded in an urban garden, 7.15 am.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-vented Bulbul. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-vented_Bulbul

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