Red-vented Bulbul

Factual Description:-

Common Name:- Red-vented Bulbul

Scientific Name:- Pycnonotus cafer

Other local names: - Hindi- Kala bulbul, Bulbuli, Guldum, Himachal Pradesh-Kala painju, Assamese- Bulbuli sorai, Cachar- Dao bulip, Dafila- Nili betom, Lepcha- Mancleph-pho, Naga- Inrui bulip, Bhutan- Paklom, Bhil- Peetrolyo, Gujrati- Hadiyo bulbul, Kutchi- Bhilbhil, Marathi- Lalbudya bublbul, Oriya- Bulubul, Tamil- Kondanchiradi, Konda- Lati, Kondai kuruvi, Telugu- Pigil-pitta, Malayalam- Nattu bulbul, Kannada- Kempu dwarada pikalara, Sinhalese- Konde kurulla.

Description

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. 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 Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand. It is included in the list of world's 100 worst invasive alien species. 

The aggressive nature and fruit-eating habits of the red-vented bulbul have unfortunately resulted in it being considered one of the world's worst invasive alien species in areas where it has been introduced. The sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults. The typical call has been transcribed as ginger beer but a member 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 and leucistic individuals have been noted. 

Taxonomy

The Red-vented Bulbul was originally decscribed by Linnaeus in 1766. Several populations of this widespread species have been named as subspecies (or races). The nominate race is found in southern India. The type locality of Puducherry was designated by Erwin Stresemann. The race in the western part is intermedius and is found in Kashmir and Kohat down to the Salt Range and along the Himalayas to Kumanon. The race bengalensis is found in the Himalayas from Nepal east to Assam. South of these tow forms are pallidus to the west south to Ahmednagar and saturatus along the east, south to the Godavari. There are no distinct boundaries to these racial forms and recent works do not recognize saturatus (designated by Whistler & Kinnear, 1932 for the northeastern Peninsular India) but accept the desert form humayuni (earlier named as pallidus) from Sindh and northwest India, northeast Indian stanfordii (= stanfordi Deignan, 1949) amd the Sri Lankan race haemorrhous (= haemorrhousus (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)). Race melanchimus is found in Southern Burma and northern Thailand. Race chrysorrihoides is found in China. Two formerly designated races nigropileus in Southern Burma and Burmanicus of Northern Burma are considered as hybirds. 

Shape, Size & Morphology

The upperparts and breast of the red-vented bulbul are dark sooty brown, although each brown feather has a pale edge, resulting in a 'scaly' appearance. The brown breast shades to a white belly and a white, occasionally cinnamon, rump, and the tail is brown with white tips. The brownish is plumage of the body contrast with the glossy black head, which bears a tufted crest of feathers at top of crown. Underneath the tail, around the vent, is the patch of vivid scarlet feathers for which this bird is named. 

Size of the bird is around 20 cms or 8.5 inches in length. 

Habitat

Red-vented Bulbul is a bird of dry scrub, open forest, plains and cultivation 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. 

Distribution

It has been introduced into Hawaii, Fiji and New Zealand. The 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 seen i Melbourne around 1917 but not seen after 1942. They established in Auckland in the 1950's but were exterminated. They prefer the dry lowland regions in these introduced regions. They are considered as pests because of their habit of damaging fruit crops. They can also disperse the seeds of invasive plants like Lantana camara and Miconia calvescens. 

Diet

Found foraging in both pairs and large flocks, the red-vented bulbul eats mostly soft fruits (such as bananas), berries, seeds and nectar. It is also not uncommon to find this species feasting on insects, and even small reptiles, such as geckos. The red-vented bulbul tends to swallow fruits whole and thus the seeds travel through its digestive systems completely intact, making the red-vented bulbul particularly important for dispersing plant seeds. 

Breeding 

The red-vented bulbul may breed year-round, although breeding activity peaks between January and October. It is thought to have up to three broods within a year, with each brood typically containing two to four eggs. The nest, which is built in just a couple of days, is a shallow cup made from twigs, roots, and other materials such as metal wire and cobwebs. The distinctive eggs of the red-vented bulbul, which are pale pink with darker reddish or purple patches at the broader end, are incubated for about 14 days. 

Behaviour and Ecology 

Their vocalizations are usually stereoped and they call throughout the year. However a number of distinct call types have been  identified incuding roosting, begging, greeting, fight and the 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 while some bird lice such as Menacanthus guldum have been described as ectoparasites. 

In Culture

In 19th century India, these birds were frequently kept a cage pets and for fighting especially in the Carnatic region. The would be held on the finger with a thread attached and when they fought they would seize the red feathers of the opponents. 

IUCN Status

The red-vented bulbul is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. 

References:-

1. http://www.arkive.org/red-vented-bulbul/pycnonotus-cafer/

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-vented_bulbul

3. http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1144/overview/Red-vented_Bulbul.aspx

4. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=7196

5. http://www.wild-facts.com/2012/wild-fact-393-a-piercing-sound-bulbul/

6. http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/birds/Passeriformes/Pycnonotidae/Pycnonotus-cafer

7. http://beautyofbirds.com/redventedbulbuls.html

8. http://www.bird-friends.com/BirdPage.php?name=Red-Vented+BulBul