Black-headed Bulbul

Black-headed Bulbul
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pycnonotidae
Genus: Pycnonotus
Species: P. atriceps
Binomial name
Pycnonotus atriceps
(Temminck, 1822)

The Black-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in forests in south-east Asia. It has a mainly olive-yellow plumage with a glossy bluish-black head. A grey morph where most of the olive-yellow is replaced by grey also exists. The distinctive taxon from the Andamans has most of the head olive, and is increasingly treated as a separate species, the Andaman Bulbul (P. fuscoflavescens). The Black-headed Bulbul resembles the Black-crested Bulbul, but has blue eyes (though not reliable in juveniles), a broad yellow tip to the tail, and never shows a crest (however, some subspecies of the Black-crested are also essentially crestless, but they have red or yellow throats). The Black-headed Bulbul mainly feeds on small fruit and berries, but will also take insects. It commonly occurs in small flocks, comprising 6-8 individuals.

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Pycnonotus atriceps. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern