Seychelles Bulbul
Encyclopedia
The Seychelles Bulbul, Hypsipetes crassirostris, is a member of the bulbul
family of passerine
bird
s. The species is related to the Comoro Bulbul
. It is a common endemic
species of the Seychelles
, breeding on Mahé
, Praslin
, La Digue
and Silhouette
as well as some smaller islands. The Seychelles Bulbul is social, living in pairs, family groups or small flocks in forest and woodland from the sea to the mountains on granitic mountains. The species is omnivorous, taking fruit, flowers, eggs, and insects gleaned from foliage or hawked during short flights. They are very aggressive towards other birds species, chasing away birds as large as Green-backed Heron
s from areas that they are feeding in.
The breeding season of the Seychelles Bulbul usually begins at the start of the monsoon
, around October to January, although breeding can occur at any time. It builds a circular nest
out of palm fibres, leaves, twigs and moss in a forked tree branch, usually 10 m or more above the ground. Two whitish eggs
with spots are usually laid per season, although in most cases only one chick is successfully raised to fledging
age. Incubation lasts for 15 days and fledging occurs 21 days after hatching, but young fledglings will accompany adults after fledging, possibly to learn foraging skills.
Bulbul
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
family of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. The species is related to the Comoro Bulbul
Comoro Bulbul
The Comoro Bulbul is a species of songbird in the Pycnonotidae family.It is found in Comoros and Mayotte.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:...
. It is a common endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
species of the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, breeding on Mahé
Mahé, Seychelles
Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...
, Praslin
Praslin
Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles, lying 44 km north east of Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 6,500 people and comprises two administrative districts; Baie Sainte Anne and Grand' Anse . The main settlements are the Baie Ste Anne, Anse Volbert and Grand' Anse.It was...
, La Digue
La Digue
La Digue is the fourth largest inhabited island of the Seychelles, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. It has a population of about 2,000 people, who mostly live in the west coast villages of La Passe and La Réunion. It has an area of 10 km²...
and Silhouette
Silhouette Island
Silhouette Island lies 20 km northwest of Mahé in the Seychelles. It is the third largest island in the Seychelles. It has an area of 20 km² and has a population of 135, mostly workers on the island. The main settlement is La Passe, where there is a hotel for visitors to Silhouette...
as well as some smaller islands. The Seychelles Bulbul is social, living in pairs, family groups or small flocks in forest and woodland from the sea to the mountains on granitic mountains. The species is omnivorous, taking fruit, flowers, eggs, and insects gleaned from foliage or hawked during short flights. They are very aggressive towards other birds species, chasing away birds as large as Green-backed Heron
Green-backed Heron
"Green-backed Heron" is a collective term for certain herons. Small and compact among herons, these birds often feature green plumage – rare among the Ardeidae –, in particular on the back, wings and scapulars....
s from areas that they are feeding in.
The breeding season of the Seychelles Bulbul usually begins at the start of the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, around October to January, although breeding can occur at any time. It builds a circular nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
out of palm fibres, leaves, twigs and moss in a forked tree branch, usually 10 m or more above the ground. Two whitish eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
with spots are usually laid per season, although in most cases only one chick is successfully raised to fledging
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
age. Incubation lasts for 15 days and fledging occurs 21 days after hatching, but young fledglings will accompany adults after fledging, possibly to learn foraging skills.