Light-vented Bulbul
Pycnonotus sinensis
Common songbird of gardens, parks, and forests. Adult dark olive above, white below, with black-and-white head pattern. Hainan subspecies has a blackish head with white limited to ear patch. Juvenile dull brown above (greenish in wings), white below, lacking head pattern. Hybrids with Styan’s Bulbul appear intermediate, with the moustachial stripe and white feathers around the eye of Styan’s but at least partly white nape of Light-vented. Common song is a ringing series of four notes, “wee-wee-der-wee.”
Identification
The light-vented bulbul is around 19 cm (7.5 in) in length. It has a black crown and moustachial stripe, with white patches covering the nape and the sides of its black head. It has white plumage from its eyes to the back of its head. The upperparts are greyish-brown mixed with olive. The wings and tail are brown fringed with bright olive. The underparts are whitish with a pale brown breastband. It is noisy and sings very brightly and variably with a cha-ko-lee...cha-ko-lee... sound.
Taxonomy
The light-vented 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 flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa sinensis. The specific epithet is Modern Latin for "Chinese". Gmelin based his entry on "Le gobe-mouches verdâtre de la Chine" that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat. The type location has been restricted to Guangzhou (Canton). The light-vented bulbul is now one of 32 species placed in the genus Pycnonotus that was introduced in 1836 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.<p>Four subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Pycnonotus sinensis
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pycnonotidae
- Genus
- Pycnonotus
Range and habitat
It is found in:<p>In Hong Kong, the light-vented bulbul is abundant in lightly wooded areas, cultivated land and shrubland, whereas the red-whiskered bulbul is the common bulbul of suburbs and urban parks.[1]<p>In Taiwan, however, the light-vented bulbul dominates all of these habitats, though it is replaced along the east coast by Styan's bulbul. Chinese bulbuls are seen frequently in Shanghai, where it is perhaps the third most common bird after tree sparrows and spotted doves.[8]
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Band-tailed Fruiteater
Pipreola intermedia
Chunky green bird with coral red bill and legs. Males have a black hood, a yellow collar, and a green body with a scaled pattern underneath; females are entirely green with a similar scaly belly pattern, and typically a complete yellow eye-ring. Found singly or in pairs in montane forest. Similar but slightly larger than Green-and-black Fruiteater, which lacks the black terminal tail band and white tail tips of Band-tailed. Male Band-taileds are also typically more heavily patterned underneath than that species, and females have a more prominent eye-ring.
Halmahera Flowerpecker
Dicaeum schistaceiceps
A tiny, dumpy, very short-tailed gray songbird. Paler underparts are divided by a whiter central strip. Males display a diagnostic red patch on the breast that is absent in females. Juveniles resemble female, but are duller, with a pale-based bill. Confined to the north Moluccas. Singles or pairs can be found in canopy of forest and forest edge in the lowlands and foothills. Tiny size and stunted shape aid identification in both sexes, as no other flowerpeckers occur in its range. Gives very high-pitched “tzeee” notes from the canopy, and a wetter “pip” call too.
Ringed Antpipit
Corythopis torquatus
Small ground-dwelling flycatcher of lowland rainforest. Very unusual appearance for a flycatcher, looking more like a tiny thrush or an antbird as it struts around the ground with its body held upright. Likes to walk on logs and tree roots in mature rainforest, making short flights up to understory vegetation to catch insects. Dull brown above and white below with broad black breast streaks. Listen for its short song with a distinctive “up-down” pattern, a whistled “wheeu, pew.”
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