White-eared bulbul

White-eared bulbul
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1] White eared bulbul, captured from Vasai, Maharashtra, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Pycnonotidae
Genus:	Pycnonotus
Species:	P. leucotis
Binomial name
*Pycnonotus leucotis* (Gould, 1836)

Distribution of P. leucotis (light green) and P. leucogenys (dark green) in the South Asian region

The white-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) is a member of the bulbul family. It is found in Kuwait, Bahrain, mid and southern Iraq, southern Iran,tehran iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-western India, in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and on the Arabian peninsula. The species was earlier considered a conspecific of Pycnonotus leucogenys.

Description

This species is very similar in appearance to the Himalayan white-cheeked bulbul Pycnonotus leucogenys but smaller and uncrested and with a larger white cheek patch. It has a pale bare eye-ring. The vent is orange yellow. Sexes are alike.

It is found in scrub forest and gardenland. Also found in flocks or pairs in the mangroves, gorging on the fruits of the Meswak bush. Usually seen in pairs or small groups. It feeds on fruits and insects, and breeds in March–June.

In Iran, the natural habitat of the species is Khouzestan Province, in the southwest of the country where it feeds on dates and is generally considered a pest. Some also call it "the bulbul of Tehran".^[2]

Gallery

At Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
On a khabbar tree (Salvadora oleoides) at Hodal in Faridabad district of Haryana, India
Looking for scraps of chapatis at Hodal
At Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Fighting their rival images
In Musandam Peninsula, Oman
White-eared bulbul at Birdworld, Farnham
White-eared bulbul (left) and red-vented bulbul (right) at Birdworld, Farnham

References

↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Pycnonotus leucotis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
↑ http://fhnews.ir/fa/news/79802/The Bulbul of Tehran

Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (1999) and multiple reprints. Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp, Oxford University Press, New Delhi

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pycnonotus leucotis.

BirdLife Species Factsheet

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