Red-whiskered Bulbul ( Kerala )

Red-whiskered Bulbul  , Taken From Block Panchayath Office, Areekode ( Kerala )

The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It feeds on fruits and small insects and they conspicuously perch on trees and their calls are a loud three or four note call. The distinctive crest and the red-vent and whiskers makes them easy to identify. They are very common in hill forests and urban gardens within its range. 

Local names include Turaha pigli-pitta in Telugu, Sipahi bulbul in Bengali,  Phari-bulbul or Kanera bulbu in Hindi and Irattathalachi bulbul in Malayalam

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The Forest Department of Kerala has just completed the first-ever ornithological survey for the Malabar region recording 341 species of birds.

The survey is one of a kind notable for its sheer depth and span, more comprehensive than all such surveys undertaken so far in India. Hopefully, the five-member team including four eminent ornithologists commissioned by the Forest Department of Kerala, having completed such a through status report on the birds of Kerala, has established a new national benchmark for all such wildlife surveys in future.

The survey spans locations in North Kerala, which covers Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargode districts. The area extends from the Ghats, through the midlands, to the seacoast, which lies north of Palakkad Gap.

The forest areas studied are the Silent Valley National Park, Mannarkad forest division, Nilambur North and South divisions, the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary and their neighbouring areas as well as the Reserve Forests of Kasargode district and the wetlands of North Malabar.

2 of the 341 species surveyed belong to globally-threatened category as notified by IUCN. Alarmingly, of the 22 threatened species 17 are residents and, of which 9 are specifically endemic to Western Ghat. 15 species of birds are found to be abundant in the region, of which two are migrants, and one endemic. They include Yellow-browed Bulbul, Small Sunbird; Green Leaf-Warbler, Large–billed Leaf-Warbler and the three species of Bulbuls including the Black Bulbul.

The surveyors spent a year (from November 1 2010 to the middle of October 2011) during, which they had covered over 4000 km, trekking through treacherous forest areas enduring extreme weather conditions and threats from wild animals.