Davis Lund Aviaries

Great Beginner Birds

Bulbuls are generally hardy and easy to care for, making them wonderful birds for the beginning softbiller. They are active, alert, and personable birds with attractive plumage, although most do not have bold colors. Most species have nice crests and are in the lower price range too, which is a plus.

White-Headed Black Bulbuls

In the past five years some interesting species of bulbuls have been imported from Asia, and we have found the White-Headed Black Bulbuls to be one of the most attractive. The Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis or H. leucocephalus as it is also referred to) has a wide native range and is found in Madagascar and southeast Asia. We have not found much literature on the species in the wild and even less in aviculture literature. What little we have found, observed, or been told is as follows; we are definitely not done with our research!

Identifying softbills can be tricky! To make matters worse, of the ten or so subspecies of the Black Bulbuls, there are several of them that have white heads, thus the commonly called White-Headed Black Bulbuls - not to be confused with the White Headed Bulbuls (H.thompsoni)! The visual difference between the subspecies seems to be the extent of the white. You would think these birds are a completely different species because of their varying appearances!

At least two of these white-headed subspecies occur in Thailand and two in China. We have seen three different white-headed subspecies imported in 1998 -2000. One is the subspecies in which the white extends down to completely cover the breast and nape of the neck ( H.m.leucothorax), another in which the white only covers the head and throat (H. m. stresemanni or H.m. leucocephalus), and possibly a third, much like the former, but with dalmatian black spotting on the white breast.

During the past few years of working with these subspecies, we have discovered that they can be visually sexed accurately. We have had all our birds surgically sexed to confirm our hypothesis.

Males have dark, solid, black plumage and are heavier bodied. Females are a lighter, charcoal, blackish-grey color with definite white edgings on the undertail covert feathers. This is different than the white down feathers that are exposed when plumage is ruffled on either gender. We also have two immature male birds that have the white edging like the females but the black plumage of the male. It remains to be seen if the edging will disappear when older.

We doubt that we are the first people to notice this difference, but if it is already known, it is certainly not being widely publicized. We are anxious to hear from any other aviculturists who have these birds so we can compare notes and learn more about them.

Pictured above is a mature pair of H.m.leucothorax just coming out of moult. You can clearly see the pure black plumage of the male at the top and the white feather edging on the female.

Bulbuls are very well-groomed birds with typically immacalute plumage when well cared for, but once a year they go through a heavy moult in which they loose most of their head feathers at the same time, as well as so many of their other feathers that they look horribly abused! In our area of California, this occurs at the end of June and beginning of July. When purchasing birds at marts or from quarantine, they typically do not have perfect plumage to begin with and when moulting... yuch! This period of time certainly does not do justice to what beauties these birds will turn into to.

Pictured right: A male H.m.l. coming out of moult with most of the body plumage looking pretty good, but the entire head still covered in pin feathers.

Most of the bulbul species are excellent flyers and very active thus requiring medium to large aviaries. We would recommend a minimum size of 3ft x 5ft x 5ft (l x w x ht) for a pair of smaller bulbuls. The larger species such as the Black Bulbuls would need bigger enclosures. Planted flights are usually well appreciated and encourage breeding, as well as attract extra livefood. Most of the bulbuls can be kept in mixed-species aviaries peaceably although when breeding some species can be murderous to other adult and young birds.

White-Headed Black Bulbuls are excellent display birds. The dramatic, Bald Eagle-type coloration instantly attracts the eyes of viewers. The birds do not lurk in shrubbery instead they perch high and out in the open, often on the tip of a vertical branch. Our bulbuls are all kept in mixed-species aviaries with birds of various sizes from finches and up to turacos with no aggression problems. One of our flights contains two pairs of the White-Headed Bulbuls but we may separate the pairs at breeding time if aggression between them starts.

Bulbuls of all species are generally easy to feed, requiring a base diet of fruits and pellets. We feed ours the fruit & veggie mix, dry and soaked pellets, and variety of livefood as described on our Diet page. Raised food platforms in the flights are appreciated but they will use food bowls placed on the ground. The White-Headed Black Bulbuls are such swift and agile flyers that they will hawk insects from the air and will even catch mealworms that we throw to them.

Most bulbuls are relatively easy to breed if given the right conditions. Generally seasonal breeders, they like nesting inside shrubbery or in the high secluded corners of the aviary. Nests are made with grasses, fibers, and small twigs, building their own or utilizing open-fronted boxes or open finch baskets.

Both sexes of the White-Headed Black Bulbuls call throughout the year although the male becomes very vocal at breeding time. The calls often resemble a human baby crying (Waaa). The female displays by crouching low with rump up, fluttering her wings while calling softly.