EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Black Bulbul of the Himalayas

Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus), Family Pycnonotidae
Punakha, Bhutan

Explanation:  It is nice to report on a species that is relatively common, that is diverse throughout its range, and that makes for an interesting birding encounter.  This is a Black Bulbul, appearing in these photos in the mountains of west-central Bhutan.  

Black Bulbuls often occur in large flocks, and are nearly strictly arboreal, staying in the tree canopies feeding on fruits, berries, and some insects.  They are commonly found in forest plantations and broadleaf woodlands.  

They also take flower nectar and thereby likely serve as a largely unappreciated pollinator of their favorite trees, as shown in the following photo:

There are some 10 or so identified subspecies; ours here is likely Hypsipetes leucocephalus psaroides, also known as the Himalayan Black Bulbul, found from northern Afghanistan and Pakistan through the central Himalayas to northeast India and Myanmar, and also Nepal and Bhutan.  However, sometimes the Black Bulbul is combined with the Malagasy Bulbul, Hypsipetes madagascariensis either as a subspecies or as a conspecific.