The Red-vented Bulbul

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 black tail is 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. Race bengalensis of Central and Eastern Himalayas and the Gangetic plain has dark hood without scales with dark streaks on the lower belly. Race stanfordi of the South Assam hills is similar to intermedius. The desert race humayuni from a paler brown mantle. The nominate race cafer is found in Peninsular India. Northeast Indian race wetmorei is between cafer, humayuni and bengalensis. about 20cm in length, with a long tail. Sri Lankan race haemorrhous has a dark mantle with narrow pale edges.