Red Vented Bulbul in Palm Tree
Photograph by Carol Reynolds
Red Vented Bulbuls (pycnonotas cafer) are quite common on the island of Oahu. They are considered a harmful invasive species as they wreck havoc on gardens and fruits and causes over $300,000 damage annually to orchids here. There are several orchid growers on this island. Red vented Bulbuls eat other things besides flowers and flower buds; they also eat fruit and vegetables as well as insects and even small lizards. I took the photograph above from off my patio (they are called lanai here in Hawaii). There is a big drama going on above in the palm trees just beyond my lanai. See photo below.
Anyone familiar with palm trees knows that when they have orange and/or brown "leaves" that that means it is dying and will soon fall off the tree. Can you see the bulbul in this tree? A pair has built a nest on this dying palm leaf. It was green when they began the nest. Look below.
See the nest ? At this point I believe there are only eggs in the nest, because the male and female take turns sitting on it and there is no constant back and forth like there would be if the eggs had hatched and they were feeding babies.
I wish I could do something to help. I called the number for a bird/animal rescue place, and the woman said nature would just have to take its course, These were probably young parents and they will have to learn the hard way to build their nest somewhere else. Nesting season lasts a long time and soon they will have a new nest and new eggs.
The photograph directly above gives you a good look at the Red Vented Bulbul's nice crest.
I took all the above photos this morning while on my lanai. Later in this post is a video by someone else from You Tube, showing baby bulbuls being fed by the parents. I wanted to give you a little more information about this aggressive bird first. They are just a tad over 8 inches in size, and so far are found only on Oahu and the big island of Hawaii. They are an alien introduced species to Hawaii and were originally from tropical southern Asia, as in India and Burma and China and I believe Pakistan as well. The male and female bulbul look alike.
On Oahu there is also found the Red Whiskered Bulbul, which are a bit smaller and, in my opinion, a lot prettier as they are lighter in color.
I hope, after the nest falls , that "my" bulbuls stay near my area. I enjoy their beautiful songs and their comings and goings. They chase smaller finches and other birds away from what they consider their territory.
Below is a video of bulbuls, Enjoy !
