The red-vented bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. The rump is white while the vent is red. It is about 20 cm in length, with a long black tail, tipped in white. The Himalayan races have a more prominent crest and are more streaked on the underside. The race intermedius of the Western Himalayas has a black hood extending to the mid-breast. The population bengalensis of the Central and Eastern Himalayas and the Gangetic plain has a dark hood, lacks the scale-like pattern on the underside and instead has dark streaks on the paler lower belly. Race stanfordi of the South Assam hills is similar to intermedius. The desert race humayuni has a paler brown mantle. The nominate race cafer is found in Peninsular India. The Northeast Indian race wetmorei is between cafer, humayuni and bengalensis. The Sri Lankan race haemorrhous has a dark mantle with narrow pale edges.
Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults.The typical call has been transcribed as ginger beer, but a number of sharp single note calls sounding like pick are also produced. Their alarm calls are usually responded to and heeded by many other species of bird.
Red-vented bulbuls feed on fruits, petals of flowers, nectar, insects and occasionally house geckos.
Red-vented bulbuls build their nests in bushes at a height of around 2-3 m (6.6-9.8 ft). Nests are occasionally built inside houses or in a hole in a mud bank.
Nests in tree cavities have also been noted.Nesting in safe cavities of residential buildings has also been noted.
They breed from June to September and lay two or three eggs in a typical clutch. The eggs are pale-pinkish with spots of darker red more dense at the broad end.
However, in one instance, breeding has also been observed in February in Tamil Nadu.
They are capable of having multiple clutches in a year. Nests are small flat cups made of small dry twigs and spider web, but sometimes making use of metal wires.
The eggs hatch after about 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks and on feeding trips wait for the young to excrete, swallowing the faecal sacs produced for the first few days when the bacterial level is minimum. Later they carry the faecal sacs and dump them elsewhere.
Their vocalizations are usually stereotyped and they call throughout the year. However, a number of distinct call types have been identified including roosting, begging, greeting, flight and two kinds of alarm calls.
The red-vented bulbul was among the first animals other than humans that was found to be incapable of synthesizing. However, a large number of other birds were later found to likewise lack the ability to synthesize vitamin C.
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4 окт 2024
