Congratulations for making it to the middle of the week. The weekend is just around the corner and to help make the ride there a little easier, we are going on a trip to learn about a passerine bird known as the Bulbul. So where exactly are we going? Well, you get to decide since this bird can be found in a variety of locations including Africa, Middle East, tropical Asia and where I plan on going, Indonesia. What are you waiting for? Get your passport and your binoculars and let’s get going.
What’s That Noise?!?
There are about 130 species of the Bulbul but instead of going through all of them, we are just going to focus on the general characteristics of the entire family. As mentioned, the Bulbul is a passerine bird that has a long tail and short wings. Although the Bulbul is known to be quite vocal, this isn’t necessarily a good thing as one author described their nasally calls as “the most unattractive noises made by any bird”. With a description like that, you know we are going to find a call to judge for ourselves. Follow the link below to hear the “most unattractive noise”.
I don’t know, I find the shrill to be quite soothing. I think it would be a great sound to fall asleep to.
Family Ties
For the most part the Bulbul is a monogamous bird species and in some cases, a very tight family. The male will typically feed the female as she incubates her eggs, which takes up to 12 days, on average. In some species, the past chicks will stick around to help raise their new brothers and sisters, which is awfully nice of them. In on species, the Bulbul is actually polygamous and as a result these tight family bonds don’t exist. It would be interesting to see which method is more successful for the Bulbul.
A Noisy Pet
If you have been reading this Wild Fact trying to figure out why you have heard of this bird before, perhaps you know someone that has a pet Bulbul. The Red-Whiskered and Red-Vented Bulbul have been captured and widely distributed in the pet trade. Hopefully these birds have a nicer song than the Brown-Eared Bulbul, otherwise I would think there would be some unhappy pet owners.
Thanks for reading today’s Wild Fact. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you back here tomorrow.
