Black Crested Bulbul

Scientific Name: Pycnonotus melanicterus. The bird actually belongs to the Pycnonotus melanicterus family and is mainly found in the south east Asia up to Indonesia of the far east.

Origin:

India and Sri Lanka.

Description:

Size: 20 cm (8 in) COCK:

Head, crest and throat: black.

Breast and upper parts: olive green, fading to dully yellowish olive on belly and around the vent. Rather striking yellow eye.

Beak and legs: black.

HEN: The hen is some what similar to the cock with respect to physical appearance. The sex of the bird can not easily be determined based on the color of the plumage. The flight of the bird is like the flight of a woodpecker which is bouncy in nature.

The Black-Crested Bulbul is very hardy and easy to manage. A single bird can be kept in a mixed aviary with birds of similar size and temperament. This lively bird can be easily tamed and adapts well with the captive environment.

Diet: (Softbill) The bird should be given food items that are ideal for soft billed birds. The food for the bird can be in the form of small sized insects and fruits including apples, oranges and particularly pears and chopped grapes. It loves to eat berries and should provide live food on a regular basis. Six meal worms per bird can be given each day. The insectile mix should be coarse grained rather than fine.

Black Crested Bulbul Breeding:

It is necessary to segregate a pair in a flight on their own. It builds a rather messy cup-shaped nest in bushy vegetation, but has been known to utilize boxes or baskets in captivity. A thickly planted area must he provided or it does not attempt to build a nest. In captivity the bird should be given proper environment for building nests.

In wild the bird thrives in dense forested areas and builds nests in bushy areas. So, tree braches, stones and other bushy areas can be created inside the aviary for the bird.

In wild the bird thrives in dense forested areas and builds nests in bushy areas. So, tree braches, stones and other bushy areas can be created inside the aviary for the bird.

Two to three eggs are laid at a time and both cock and hen take part in the building of the nest and in the incubation of the eggs and rearing the young. Incubation normally lasts about 14 to 16 days and the chicks mature quickly when hatched and are ready to leave the nest after two weeks. Successful rearing of chicks depends on the provision of plenty of live food, meal-worms, maggots, woodlice, small smooth-backed caterpillars, grasshoppers and small locusts.

Two broods per season are normal. The chicks should be removed from the parents as soon as they are able to feed themselves, or they may be attacked. The plumage of the young bird is dull in appearance. As feather of the bird becomes dark in color as the bird grows and matures.

The other subspecies of the bird includes ruby throated bulbul found in Java and Sumatra, the flame throted bulbul found in the Western Ghats regions of India, black clapped bulbul found in Srilanka and Bornean bulbul found in Borneo.