Red-vented bulbul

The red-vented bulbul (''Pycnonotus cafer'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Bhutan and Nepal. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world and has established itself in New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Fiji, as well as parts of Samoa, Australia, USA and Cook Islands. It is included in the list of the world's 100 worst invasive alien species.

Taxonomy and systematics

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red-vented bulbul in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He used the French name ''Le merle hupé du Cap de Bonne Espérance'' and the Latin ''Merula Cristata Capitis Bonae Spei''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the red-vented bulbul. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Turdus cafer'' and cited Brisson's work. The red-vented bulbul does not occur in Africa. The type location was later changed to Sri Lanka and then in 1952 designated as Pondicherry in India by the German naturalist Erwin Stresemann. The specific epithet ''cafer'' is New Latin for South Africa. This species is now placed in the genus ''Pycnonotus'' that was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826.

Two formerly designated races, ''P. c. nigropileus'' in southern Burma and ''P. c. burmanicus'' of northern Burma, are now considered as hybrids.

Subspecies

Eight subspecies are recognized:
* Central Indian red-vented bulbul (''P. c. humayuni'') - Deignan, 1951: Found in south-eastern Pakistan, north-western and north-central India
* Punjab red-vented bulbul (''P. c. intermedius'') - Blyth, 1846: Originally described as a separate species. Found in Kashmir and Kohat down to the Salt Range and along the western Himalayas to Kumaon.
* ''P. c. bengalensis'' - Blyth, 1845: Originally described as a separate species. Found in the central and eastern Himalayas from Nepal to Assam, north-eastern India and Bangladesh
* ''P. c. stanfordi'' - Deignan, 1949: Found in northern Burma and south-western China
* ''P. c. melanchimus'' - Deignan, 1949: Found in south-central Burma and northern Thailand
* ''P. c. wetmorei'' - Deignan, 1960: Found in eastern India
** ''P. c. saturatus'' - (Whistler & Kinnear, 1932): Originally described as a separate species ''Stelgidocichla latirostris saturata'' (Mearns 1914). Found in north-eastern India
* ''P. c. cafer'' - (Linnaeus, 1766): Found in southern India
* ''P. c. haemorrhousus'' - ( Gmelin, JF, 1789): Found in Sri Lanka

Red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer humayuni).jpg, ''P. c. humayuni''
Rajasthan, India
PycnonotusMagrathiKeulemans.jpg, ''P. leucogenys'' x ''P. c. humayuni'' hybrid (''magrathi'')
Red vented Bulbul I IMG 6303.jpg, Underside of ''P. c. bengalensis''
Red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer haemorrhousus) vent.jpg, ''P. c. haemorrhousus'' showing vent, Sri Lanka.

Description

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'' (=''haemorrhousus'') has a dark mantle with narrow pale edges. Race ''humayuni'' is known to hybridize with ''Pycnonotus leucogenys'' and these hybrids were once described as a subspecies ''magrathi'' marked by their pale rumps and yellow-orange or pink vents. In eastern Myanmar there is some natural hybridization with ''Pycnonotus aurigaster''.

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.

Melanistic as well as leucistic individuals have been noted. An individual with aberrant colour form was observed in Bhavans College Campus, Andheri, Mumbai.

Distribution and habitat

This is a bird of dry scrub, open forest, plains and cultivated 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.

Red-vented bulbuls were introduced into Fiji in 1903 by indentured labourers from India, becoming widespread. They were introduced to Tonga in 1943 and became common on Samoa by 1957. They became established on the Tongan islands of Tongatapu and Niuafo'ou. They were introduced into Melbourne around 1917 but were not seen after 1942. They established in Auckland in the 1950s but were exterminated and another wild population was detected and exterminated in 2006. In 2013 more were found, and authorities offered a $1000 reward for information that led to a bird's capture. They prefer dry lowland habitat in these regions. They were first observed breeding on the Canary Islands in 2018. They are considered as pests because of their habit of damaging fruit crops. Methiocarb and ziram have been used to protect cultivated ''Dendrobium'' orchids in Hawaii from damage by these birds; however, they learn to avoid the repellent chemicals. They can also disperse the seeds of invasive plants like ''Lantana camara'' and '' Miconia calvescens''.

''P. cafer'' is invasive in New Caledonia. Thibault et al. (2018) finds this species to be pushing out native species but not other introduced species. . .

Behaviour and ecology

Red-vented bulbuls feed on fruits, petals of flowers, nectar, insects and occasionally house geckos (Hemidactylus flaviviridis). They have also been seen feeding on the leaves of ''Medicago sativa''.

Red-vented bulbuls build their nests in bushes at a height of around . Nests are occasionally built inside houses or in a hole in a mud bank. In one instance, a nest was found on a floating mat of Water hyacinth

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