Bird Guide

Red-vented Bulbul vs Red-whiskered Bulbul

Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)

Red-vented Bulbul

Pycnonotus cafer

Small43 gShrubland

The red-vented bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance. The body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black. The rump is white while the vent is red. The bird is about 20 cm in length, with a long black tail, tipped in white. The Himalayan races have a more prominent crest and are more streaked on the underside. The race intermedius of the Western Himalayas has a black hood extending to the mid-breast.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Red-vented Bulbul
Recorded by Jairam Vijayan · Song · Payyavoor, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Rupal Vaidya · CC BY 2.0
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Pycnonotus jocosus

Small29 gShrubland

The red-whiskered bulbul is about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. It has brown upper-parts and whitish underparts with buff flanks and a dark spur running onto the breast at shoulder level. It has a tall pointed black crest, red face patch and thin black moustachial line. The tail is long and brown with white terminal feather tips, but the vent area is red. Juveniles lack the red patch behind the eye, and the vent area is rufous-orange. An albino red-whiskered bulbul has also been recorded.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Red-whiskered Bulbul
Recorded by Ujjal Kishor De · Call · Ambedkar College, fatikroy, Unakoti, Tripura, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Daniel S. Katz · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Red-vented Bulbul and Red-whiskered Bulbul.