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Common Name : White-browed Bulbul     -       Scientific Name : Pycnonotus luteolus       -       Other Name : Galugudu Kondaya (S)
Thammanna Wala
07/22/2013
Thammanna Wala
07/22/2013

This very vocal resident species is only found in Southern India and Sri Lanka.

The conservation status of the species under reference is regarded as Least Concerned (National Red List 2012).
The White-browed Bulbul is a species protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance as amended by Act No. 22 of 2009.

This is one of the most common species found in the low country dry zone. It is not plentiful in the wet zone but can be seen in areas such as Gampaha, Kandy, Warakapola, Athwelthota etc. Unlike the Red-vented Bulbul, which is common even in built up areas and city centers, this species is not able to tolerate such urbanization. It requires some amount of tree and shrub cover to subsist. I have observed the gradual decline of this species from the city during the last two decades. It has now disappeared from the city of Colombo but its lively, loud calls are still heard in well-wooded home gardens just outside the city. The highest attitude at which I have recorded this species has been at Bandarawela- Makulella at 1,316 meters. It is found up to an altitude of about 1,000 meters in the Knuckles Forest Reserve as well. In 1995 a pair nested in our home garden at Kotte. The neat cup shaped nest was built a few feet away from the main entrance at a height of about 6 feet from the ground. The brooding bird was so bold that it would not fly out of the nest even when a person stood at touching distance from the nest. They are not seen at this locality now.

It is very common in Wilpattu and can be found throughout the park. This is a common species that would visit small pools of water during the dry season where they can be easily photographed.