Yellow-vented bulbul

Pycnonotus goiavier

Photo by Ian Barker (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
yellow-vented bulbul (en); tuta-de-ventre-amarelo (pt); bulbul goiavier (fr); bulbul culiamarillo (es); augenstreifbülbül (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Pycnonotidae

Range:
This species is found in south-east Asia, from Thailand and Laos, south to the Indonesian islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa, and also throughout most of the Philippines.

Size:
These birds are 19-20,5 cm long and weigh 24-37 g.

Habitat:
The yellow-vented bulbul is mostly found in dry scrublands, including coastal scrubs and pioneer sea dune scrubs, but also use semi-open banks and shoals of rivers, marshes, mangroves, moist tropical forests, second growths, arable land, plantations, rural gardens and urban areas.

Diet:
They are generalists and considered highly opportunistic, taking a wide range of berries and fruits, including figs and cinnamon tree fruits, as well as seeds, nectar, young shoots and also some insects.

Breeding:
Yellow-vented bulbuls breed in December-October. The nest is a deep cup made of grass, leaves, roots, vine stems, twigs, and lined with plant fibres. It can be placed low on a scrub or on a creeper high up in the trees. The female lays 2-5 white to pinkish eggs with reddish-brown to lavender spots. Both parents incubate and raise the young but there is no information regarding the length of the incubation and fledging periods. Each pair raises several broods per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common throughout its range and abundant in lowland and mid-altitude areas of Borneo. The population is suspected to be increasing rapidly as this species benefits from deforestation and the creation of artificial habitats.