White-eared bulbul

White-eared bulbul
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) 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, 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".

Gallery

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

References

• 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

• BirdLife Species Factsheet