White-eared bulbul
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{For|the alternate name used by a different species of bird|Dodson's bulbul}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pycnonotus leucotis 1.jpg
| image_caption = In Rajasthan, India
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Pycnonotus leucotis
| authority = (Gould, 1836)
| range_map = Pycnonotus_leucotis_leucogenys_map_editation_1.png
| range_map_caption = Native range of P. leucotis (light green) and P. leucogenys (dark green) in the South Asian region
| synonyms = * Ixos leucotis
- Pycnonotus leucogenys leucotis
}}
The white-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) is a member of the bulbul family. It is found in south-western Asia from India to the Arabian peninsula.
Taxonomy and systematics
The white-eared bulbul was originally described in the genus Ixos. The white-eared bulbul is considered to belong to a superspecies along with the Himalayan bulbul, white-spectacled bulbul, African red-eyed bulbul, Cape bulbul, and the common bulbul.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbw.com/species/himalayan-bulbul-pycnonotus-leucogenys|title=Himalayan Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys)|website=www.hbw.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-23}} Formerly, some authorities considered the white-eared bulbul to be a subspecies of the Himalayan Bulbul.
=Subspecies=
Description and vocalisations
The white-eared bulbul is rotund in appearance, and has a brownish-grey body. The tail of this bird is relatively long, tapering outwards. Starting off black, the tail feathers end in white tips. The head of the white-eared bulbul is black, with the area around its cheeks bearing a large white spot. The eye rings of the bulbul are bare, and the beak short. The vent of the bird is bright yellow.
The white-eared bulbul does not have a uniform song but rather a set of notes, which can be used to chirp different melodies. The song is brief, but is described as being "pleasant and fluid."{{cite web|url= https://ebird.org/species/whebul1 | title= EBird - Pycnonotus leucotis}}
Distribution
It is native to the western reaches of India, much of Pakistan, southern Afghanistan, coastal Iran, as well as much of the two-river basin in Iraq, Kuwait and the island of Bahrain.{{cite web|url= https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whebul1/cur/introduction | title= EBird - Birds of the world}}
It has been introduced to the remaining Persian Gulf countries including Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.{{cite web|url= https://www.kuwaitbirds.org/birds/white-eared-bulbul | title= EBird - Kuwaitbirds}}
Ecology
Usually the females build the nest, which is constructed in the shape of a messy cup from thin twigs, dry grass, and various plant fibers, and is located in a hidden spot on trees. The clutch contains 2–4 eggs, usually 3, very rarely 5. The eggs are creamy white with purple spots.{{Cite journal |last=El-Shafie |first=H. A. F. |last2=Abdel-Banat |first2=B. M. A. |date=2018-09-19 |title=Non-arthropod pests of date palm and their management. |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/PAVSNNR201813020 |journal=CABI Reviews |language=en |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1079/PAVSNNR201813020 |issn=1749-8848}} The incubation, which is made by the female, lasts 13–14 days in Pakistan, or 10.5–12.5 days in Iraq. Both parents participate in feeding the chicks, which fledge after 9–11 days (in Iraq). Of 19 nests in Iraq, only three (about 16%) have raised a new generation; this is likely due to predation by crows , as many nests are only poorly concealed.{{Cite journal |last=Fishpool |first=Lincoln |last2=Tobias |first2=Joseph A. |date=2024 |title=White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis), version 1.1 |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whebul1/cur/introduction |journal=Birds of the World |language=en |doi=10.2173/bow.whebul1.01.1species_shared.bow.project_name |issn=2771-3105}} This is a monogamous species , and males tend to aggressively defend nesting territories from other males{{Cite journal |last=Srivastava |first=Meera |date=2012 |title=Breeding behaviour of White-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus leucotis as observed in a house courtyard at Bikaner, Rajasthan |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/ON/article/view/7798 |journal=Our Nature |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=284–285 |doi=10.3126/on.v10i1.7798 |issn=2091-2781}}
Conservation
The species is listed by the IUCN as "Least Concern" as of 2018 but population sizes are declining.
Gallery
File:White eared Bulbul I2-Bharatpur IMG 8495.jpg|At Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
File:White-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis leucotis).jpg|P. l. leucotis, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
File:White-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis mesopotamia).jpg|P. l. mesopotamia in Musandam Peninsula, Oman
File:White-eared bulbuls (12801293303).jpg|In Babylon, Iraq
File:White-eared Bulbul AMSM5980 WCBU.jpg|P. l. leucotis at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India
File:White Eared Bulbul Mumbai.jpg|At Seawoods, Navi Mumbai
File:Your Barbed wire can not stop me.jpg|In Baghdad, Iraq
File:روباه و بلبل گوشسفید، بهبهان.jpg|alt=White-Eared Bulbul Wary of a Fox, Behbahan, Iran|White-eared bulbul watching out for a red fox, Behbahan, Iran
File:White-Eared Bulbul in Behbahan.jpg|alt=White-Eared Bulbul on a Ziziphus Tree, Behbahan|White-eared bulbul on a Ziziphus tree, Behbahan
References
{{Reflist}}
- 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
{{Commons category|Pycnonotus leucotis}}
- [http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-eared-bulbul-pycnonotus-leucotis BirdLife Species Factsheet]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q997298}}
Category:Birds of the Arabian Peninsula
Category:Birds of the Middle East
{{Pycnonotidae-stub}}