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Breeding the White,Eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus Leucotis)

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Breeding the White,Eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus Leucotis) Breeding the White,eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) by Sally Huntington President, National Finch & Softbill Society San Diego, California re you aware the White-eared Bulbul is moni­ cheeked (pycnonotus leucogeny) a much larger toring the goings-on in Afghani tan? Fe peo­ Himalayan bulbul with a very pronounced crest. A ple kno thi hand orne, pr cocious oftbil! i (Beaman & Madge, Handbook ofBird Identification for flitting about the des rt-dry lowland from Afghani tan, Europe and Western Paleartic) 1998). outh throughout Paki tan Iran, Iraq all around the The cientific name is required to insure written Per ian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, a far west as accuracy and some form of additional identification Bahrain, and as far ea t a the orthern parts of India. mu t accompany any reference to a bulbul' until e eryone i sure which one they are discus ing. This Overall Description article is about the White-eared, P. leucotis. Their are over 137 pecies of the bulbul family; This bulbul has a medium gray body, jet black Pycnonotidae. The more common name Whit -eared h ad ubtle rounded black ere t and a distinct white (Pycnonotus leucotis) i often confu ed with the White- patch over the ear coverts; hence the name. Feet and Adultpair of White-eared Bulbul . 16 Fourth Quarter 2001 legs are mottled dark gray/brown. Sex, Birds and 'oo-toodle-oo' An adult is 18cm (6-7 inches) long from tail tip to These birds are sexually monomorphic. The male beak tip. The tail is jet black, with one eighth to one courtship includes an eye-catching display wherein he quarter inch white tips on the end of the feathers visible leans forward and down, with both wings held up over from above and below. Oddly, this bulbul, as with the his back, tips almost touching. He maintains this for White-spectacled, sometimes called 'Yellow-vented about 10 seconds, then stands upright and expresses a Bulbul (P xanthopygos) has bright distinct yellow feath­ "oo-toodle-oo" song. During the song he puffs up his ers in the vent area, visible only from below and behind. body feathers and moves his wings slowly and deliber­ ately, (as though he were paddling through water) Personality sometimes for up to 30 seconds. This is a very personable bird with size and Both sexes exhibit a general greeting with the '00­ behaviors similar to that of a Pekin Robin. They are toodle-oo' song, minus the display. Both sexes will bright, cheerful, busy, inquisitive, sociable and quick to cluck what appears to be a repeated alarm similar to connect and tolerate people. Like other bulbuls, they the Pekin Robins 'pit-pit-pit-pit' sound. are excellent flyers, quick to dart about and maneuver in and out of tight areas. They can hover in place for Hard to Find 5-8 seconds, hawking insects, and will catch small I bought my first bulbul pair from an importer in things tossed to them in mid-air. No flying insect makes California in 1997. I was intrigued because they were it through a bulbul flight. scarce, said to be non-aggressive, and could be kept They amuse themselves (and onlookers) by toss­ with other non-aggressive finches and softbills. ing and catching small paperclip-sized items. One I soon discovered, however, there was very little hand-raised male CAli-Bulbul') has me trained. He flies general information available on the species. While trying to me with the paperclip, or other shiny object. It has to figure the correct set-up for breeding, the hen died sud­ become my job to hide it and switch it from hand to denly of unknown causes. I spent over three years hand. His job is to keep track of the object, pecking at assertively but vainly trying to find a replacement hen. the hand he believes it is hidden in. If he picks the empty hand, he immediately goes to the other hand. Thank You, Mr. Cristo While at the Pomona Bird Mart in March, 2001, I ON WINGS A monthI ublication servin the bird breedin and kee in communities since 1994 ON WINGS is a pUblication for the serious and dedicated aviculturists (breeders, owners, and those whose businesses are directly related to aviculture). ON WINGS offers just some of the folloWing each and every month: Investigative Reports-ON WINGS is at the forefront of investigative reports, continually requesting documentation from the government and providing the communny wnh the current actions (or inactions) of U.S. Government when it comes to avicultural or the exotic communnies. 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Classified Ads-ON WINGS provides one of the most cost efficient ways to advertise your birds and bird supplies each and every month. To subscribe send check or money order in the amount of $18.99 for 12 issues to: ON WINGS Fora FREE P.O. Box 8309 sample, e-mail: Northfield, IL 60093 OnWingsMagazine@aoLcom Along with your name, address, city, state, zip, phone number and e-mail. (as supplies last) (International subscriptions are $28.99 ayear for surface, or add $10.00 for Overseas Air Postage.) the afa WATCHBIRD 17 luckily ran into softbill enthusiast Roland Cristo who ( ote - ekton-MSA is liz tsp per quart of gator­ told me he had noticed a hen bulbul for sale nearby. aid. Tonic-1 is 1 tbls per quart of gator-aid.) I took a chance and bought the bird on faith it was a The hard-boiled egg (shells included) and meal­ hen, put the two together and, voila ... had three worms are served in one 2 x 1 x 2 inch cup, hung on clutches and six healthy birds the first year. the door. The Vionate Vitamins are sprinkled with one tsp per hardboiled egg, ala Robert Black's method. Set-up for Settling In Soaked ZuPreem pellets and fruit-of-the-day, in a sep­ Living in the moderate San Diego climate, I set the arate container also on the door. birds up in one of nine 6 x 5 x 7 foot covered outdoor Although finch seed and millet were always avail­ flights. These flights have numerous species of finches able for the other birds and the quail in the flight, I and softbills visible to one another through 3 x '12 inch never observed the bulbuls consume either. wire mesh. I keep the cement block floor covered with As we do for most softbill species, in the spring, I about two inches of easily replaceable sand. I rotate up the number of mealworms from around 25 a day to potted plants such a Ficus benjamina, small fuchsia around 250, to stimulate breeding. trees and various cape honeysuckle plants. My ev ntu­ al breeding-pair shared their flight with a breeding pair Nesting of African Red-headed Finches and four juvenile In April, 2001 I made a 'howdy cage' ala Edith Buttonquail bottom-cleaners. Pendleton's Brazilian Cardinal style cage as published in the AFA Watchbird circa 1997. This consists of a 15 Food & Water, Water & Food x 12 x 12" inch wire cage, covered with green shade­ I believe there should always be at least two cloth, open entirely on the front side, hung 4 liz feet sources of water for any flight and a non-spoiling dlY­ above the ground. I wedged a large wicker cup-nest food (I prefer ZuPreem Cockatiel Fruit Blend Breeder into the bottom wire of the howdy cage and spread Diet Pellets, in a gravity feeder) constantly available as two handfuls of coconut fiber throughout. snacks, especially if something compromises the per­ By mid May the bulbuls were carrying around ishable daily food (weather change, sudden insect coconut fibers and courting. In early June they were sit­ appearance, owner delay, etc). ting on three light-beige-colored eggs, with multi­ Note: Like Pekin Robins, bulbuls swallow shaped speckles imilar in size and shape to coarse ZuPreem whole. ground pepper. For water supply, I prefer a lO-inch round, I-inch deep dish on the ground for bathing and backup water. Parenting This is changed almo t every day. A one-quart gravity Both parent took rurns incubating the eggs. flow Lyxit bottle is hung on the door, re-supplied and While one sat eggs, the other would roost nearby, pos­ changed as required. The constant supply of dlY turing by flapping and carrying-on when I got too close (ZuPreem) for snacks hangs midway in the flight. to the nest. Although I did inspect closely, they never Daily the birds receive hard-boiled egg with became aggressive toward me, beyond threats and pos­ Vionate Vitamins, mealworms, gator-aid soaked turing. They tolerated me banding the young, ( FSS K ZuPreem pellets with Nekton-MSA and Nekton tonic-I, banel) at three days.
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