Brown-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthorrhous xanthorrhous is resident in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet, and andersoni in the rest of southern China, central China almost to Yellow River, and eastern China to south of Yangtze. Range includes Tianmu Mountains of Zhejiang but not Shanghai. HABITAT Common on hillsides in secondary growth, tangles, and scrub, sometimes in noisy flocks. ID Slightly crested crown and nape black. Brown ear coverts usually separated from white chin by black moustache. Upperparts dull brown. Nominate has greyish-brown breast band; in andersoni, breast band faint or absent. Vent yellow. Sooty-headed Bulbul P. aurigaster has black chin and lacks brownish ear coverts; Chinese ssp. of Sooty-headed have red vent. Light-vented Bulbul P. sinensis has white vent, white spot on ear coverts, white streak behind eye extending across nape, and yellow on wing. BARE PARTS Bill, feet black. VOICE Harsh, rolling whistles. Song a burst of notes, often repeated. — Craig Brelsford
THE BULBULS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers most members of Pycnonotidae in China. Click any link below:
White-throated Bulbul Alophoixus flaveolus
Puff-throated Bulbul A. pallidus
Striated Bulbul Alcurus striatus
Grey-eyed Bulbul Iole propinqua
Ashy Bulbul Hemixos flavala
Chestnut Bulbul H. castanonotus
Mountain Bulbul Ixos mcclellandii
Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis
Black Bulbul H. leucocephalus
Black-headed Bulbul Brachypodius melanocephalos
Black-crested Bulbul Rubigula flaviventris
Crested Finchbill Spizixos canifrons
Collared Finchbill S. semitorques
Stripe-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus finlaysoni
Flavescent Bulbul P. flavescens
Brown-breasted Bulbul P. xanthorrhous
Light-vented Bulbul P. sinensis
Red-whiskered Bulbul P. jocosus
Yellow-vented Bulbul P. goiavier
Red-vented Bulbul P. cafer
Sooty-headed Bulbul P. aurigaster
Himalayan Bulbul P. leucogenys
See also:
Styan’s Bulbul Pycnonotus taivanus
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
