Birdfinding.info ⇒ Locally common in some parts of its natural range: especially the coastal lowlands of India, the Himalayan foothills from Uttarakhand east, and most of Guangdong (including Hong Kong). A few introduced populations are conspicuous, including those of Singapore, Sydney, Mauritius (less so on Réunion), and Oahu (e.g., Tantalus Drive and Waikiki). In Florida seen most often in neighborhoods between Baptist Hospital and Snapper Creek Expressway. In California consistent sites include Huntington Botanical Gardens and the Los Angeles County Arboretum. In Valencia, Spain, seen most often in the neighborhoods northwest of the city center.
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Pycnonotus jocosus
South and Southeast Asia; introduced elsewhere. Inhabits various semiopen habitats, including urban and agricultural areas.
Resident along the Himalayan foothills west to northeastern Pakistan; locally across most of India (but not in the far west, and not on Sri Lanka); widespread across Southeast Asia south to peninsular Malaysia; north and east across southern China to Fujian; and on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Introduced populations are established in many parts of the world, including: Singapore; Mauritius; Réunion; eastern Australia (mostly coastal New South Wales from Newcastle to Currarong, with smaller populations in Mackay (Queensland), and Melbourne); Valencia, Spain; southeastern Florida (Kendall and Pinecrest); southern California (mostly San Gabriel Valley and San Rafael Hills); and Oahu.
Identification
A large bulbul with an exceptionally tall, thin, pointy crest that is usually vertical or curved forward, and a wisp of red “whisker” feathers on its cheeks.
Apart from the tall crest, the head is distinctively patterned: mostly blackish above, vivid red below and behind the eye, and an immaculate white throat and cheek patch that are separated by a thin dark line.
The blackish coloration of the head continues down the sides of the neck and projects as a partial necklace or breastband.
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Tiluri, West Bengal, India; August 7, 2016.) © Sovan Gupta
Red-whiskered Bulbul, showing its red whiskers. (Sim’s Park, Conoor, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India; July 6, 2019.) © Snehasis Sinha
The breast and belly are mostly white or washed brownish, mostly on the sides and flanks, and red or orange undertail coverts.
The upperparts are mostly unmarked medium-brown, darker on the tail.
The tail has white corners—i.e., white tips on the outer three feathers, broadest on the outermost—visible mainly from below or when the tail is spread.
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Byatarayana Doddi Lake, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; April 10, 2020.) © Rahul Singh
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Karnataka, India; December 25, 2017.) © harshithjv
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India; April 1, 2015.) © Vasanthan Panchavarnam
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Pune-Okayama Friendship Garden, Maharashtra, India; March 16, 2014.) © janetandphil
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Macao; April 18, 2018.) © Ivan Ku
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; March 20, 2019.) © Mahathi Narayanaswamy
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Longwood Shola, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India; June 20, 2018.) © Subhadra Devi
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, Kerala, India; January 28, 2014.) © David Irving
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Cumbres de San Antonio, Valencia, Spain; April 18, 2020.) © Antonio M. Abella
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong; April 20, 2019.) © David Chang
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Honolulu, Hawaii; March 16, 2008.) © Eric VanderWerf
Red-whiskered Bulbul, showing unmarked brown upperparts. (Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, California; May 3, 2017.) © Michael Bolte
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Hong Kong; April 28, 2019.) © wklegend
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Fraser Village, Hong Kong; May 28, 2017.) © François Wolfaardt
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Flic en Flac, Mauritius; March 23, 2016.) © Brad Arthur
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens, Queensland, Australia; October 24, 2018.) © Ged Tranter
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong; May 3, 2019.) © Paul Hyde
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Honolulu, Hawaii; March 16, 2008.) © Eric VanderWerf
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Bommasandra Industrial Area, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; April 13, 2020.) © Adithi Rao
Red-whiskered Bulbul, juvenile. (Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong; September 14, 2017.) © Qin Huang
Red-whiskered Bulbul, juvenile. (Padamugal, Ernakulam, Kerala, India; February 24, 2019.) © George Kuriakose Basil
Red-whiskered Bulbul, juvenile and adult. (La Saline-Les-Bains, Réunion; September 24, 2019.) © Phil Boyle
Red-whiskered Bulbul, juvenile. (Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India; May 12, 2021.) © Ananyaa Dobhal
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Pasadena, California; January 8, 2016.) © Steven Mlodinow
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, California; February 16, 2021.) © Derek Hameister
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Western Sydney Parklands, Glendenning, New South Wales, Australia; September 6, 2018.) © Michael Rutkowski
Red-whiskered Bulbul. (Western Sydney Parklands, Glendenning, New South Wales, Australia; September 6, 2018.) © Michael Rutkowski
Notes
Polytypic species consisting of nine recognized subspecies.
References
Alderfer, J., and J.L. Dunn. 2014. National Geographic Complete Birds of North America (Second Edition). National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
BirdLife International. 2017. Pycnonotus jocosus (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22712634A119273079. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22712634A119273079.en. (Accessed June 19, 2021.)
Brazil, M. 2009. Birds of East Asia. Princeton University Press.
eBird. 2021. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed June 19, 2021.)
Raine, H., and A.F. Raine. 2020. ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Hawai’i. Scott & Nix, Inc., New York.
Pratt, H.D., P.L. Bruner, and D.G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press.
Pyle, R.L., and P. Pyle. 2017. The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. Version 2 (January 1, 2017). http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Robson, C. 2002. Birds of Thailand. Princeton University Press.
Xeno-Canto. 2021. Red-whiskered Bulbul – Pycnonotus jocosus. https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Pycnonotus-jocosus. (Accessed June 19, 2021.)