Flame-throated Bulbul Rubigula gularis Scientific name definitions
- LC Least Concern
- Names (19)
- Monotypic
Revision Notes
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Species names in all available languages
Language | Common name |
---|---|
Catalan | bulbul de gorja taronja |
Dutch | Keralagoudborstbuulbuul |
English | Flame-throated Bulbul |
English (India) | Flame-throated Bulbul (Ruby-throated Bulbul) |
English (United States) | Flame-throated Bulbul |
French | Bulbul à gorge rubis |
French (France) | Bulbul à gorge rubis |
German | Orangekehlbülbül |
Japanese | ヒノドヒヨドリ |
Malayalam | മണികണ്ഠൻ |
Norwegian | ildhakebylbyl |
Polish | bilbil rubinowy |
Russian | Рыжегорлый бюльбюль |
Slovak | bylbyl červenohrdlý |
Spanish | Bulbul Gorjinaranja |
Spanish (Spain) | Bulbul gorjinaranja |
Swedish | ghatsbulbyl |
Turkish | Alev Boğazlı Arapbülbülü |
Ukrainian | Бюльбюль індійський |
Revision Notes
Ashish Jha revised the account. This work was done as part of a collaboration with Bird Count India. JoAnn Hackos, Robin K. Murie, Daphne R. Walmer, and Miriam Kowarski copy edited the account. Arnau Bonan Barfull curated the media.
Rubigula gularis (Gould, 1836)
Definitions
- RUBIGULA
- gulare / gularis
The Key to Scientific Names
Legend Overview
Introduction
"This species approaches in colour the Turdus dispar, Horsf... a native of Java... I have only met with the ruby throated bulbul (sic) in the forests of Malabar, and even here it is rare; it frequents the more open spaces of the jungle, and generally prefers thickets in the neighbourhood of waters."—Thomas Caverhill Jerdon, 1839 (1: 246)
Most striking among sympatric bulbuls, the Flame-throated Bulbul has a yellow body, black head with very short crest, orange-red throat, and white iris. It was presented to the Zoological Society of London by John Gould in 1835, who described it as Brachypus gularis (2). The bird was initially considered a subspecies of the widespread Black-crested Bulbul (Rubigula flaviventris), then under the name Pycnonotus melanicterus gularis, but it is now recognized as a full species and reclassified as Rubigula gularis.
The Flame-throated Bulbul is endemic to the Western Ghats in India. It mostly occurs around the foothills, where it prefers semi-evergreen, moist-deciduous, and secondary forests, as well as sacred groves, and generally avoids wet evergreen forests. It frequents the more open spaces of the jungle and generally prefers thickets near water. This bulbul is not abundant, though it is locally common, and lives in small family groups (4–6 individuals).
It is a resident species, with possible seasonal movements in certain locations. With a clutch size of 2, it nests in undergrowth about 1–3 m off the ground. Yellowing leaves are bound to the cup-shaped nests with cobwebs and offer excellent camouflage; these nests can easily be mistaken for a wind-blown accumulation of dry leaves. Flame-throated Bulbul feeds on fruit and insects, sometimes in mixed-species foraging flocks. It is categorized as 'Least concern' in the IUCN Red list and 'Moderate' in State-of-India's-Bird concern categories. The population trend is listed as 'decreasing.'