Black Bulbul
Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Medium-sized songbird with predominantly dark plumage, a very short crest, and crimson bill and legs. Long tail and bill impart an elongated appearance. Head color varies considerably across distribution, ranging from white to dark gray to black. Often travels in large flocks, which move noisily between fruiting trees. Most commonly found in broadleaf evergreen and mixed deciduous forests but also regularly visits gardens and lowland forests. Extremely noisy, with a huge repertoire, emitting various squeaks, meows, chatters, whistles, and more.
Identification
The black bulbul is 24–25 cm (9.4–9.8 in) in length, with a long tail. The body plumage ranges from slate grey to shimmering black, depending on the race. The beak, legs, and feet are all orange and the head has a black fluffy crest. Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds lack the crest, have whitish underparts with a grey breast band, and have a brown tint to the upperparts. They have a black streak behind the eye and on the ear coverts. Although males and females are indistinguishable to the human eye, there are significant differences in the ultraviolet reflectivity of the plumage making them readily distinguishable to the bulbuls themselves.<p>They can be quite noisy, making various loud cheeping, mewing and grating calls. The Himalayan form has been reported to make a call resembling a goat kid, throwing back its neck when calling.
Taxonomy
The black bulbul was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus leucocephalus. Gmelin based his account on "Le Merle Dominiquain de la Chine", a white-headed morph from China that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat. The type locality was subsequently restricted to Guangzhou (formerly Canton) in China. The black bulbul is now one of 19 species placed in the genus Hypsipetes that was introduced in 1831 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Vigors. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek hupsi meaning "high" with petēs meaning "-flyer". The specific epithet leucocephalus is from Ancient Greek leukokephalos meaning "white-headed" (from leukos "white" and -kephalos "-headed"). The black bulbul was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Malagasy bulbul. The common name "black bulbul" is also used as an alternate name for the Malagasy bulbul. Formerly, the square-tailed bulbul was also classified as two subspecies of the black bulbul.<p>Ten subspecies are currently recognized, although the reproductive isolation mechanisms such as vocalization and geographic distributions of these populations still remain to be studied:
- Scientific name
- Hypsipetes leucocephalus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pycnonotidae
- Genus
- Hypsipetes
Range and habitat
This bulbul is found in broad-leaved forests, cultivation and gardens mainly in hilly areas, but Himalayan populations are known to sometimes descend into the adjoining plains in winter.<p>It builds its nest in a tree or bush; the nest is a cup placed in a fork and made from grasses, dry leaves, mosses, lichens and cobwebs. The lining is made up of ferns, rootlets and other soft material. Both sexes participate in nest construction. Two or three eggs form the usual clutch.<p>Black bulbuls feed mainly on seeds and insects, and they are often seen in small groups, either roosting or flying about in search of food. They are particularly fond of berries. They are known to feed on a wide range of berries including Celtis, Rosa, Melia and Ehretia in the Himalayas. They feed on the nectar of Salmalia, Erythrina, Rhododendron and other species. They make aerial sallies for insects.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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