Backyard Birdies #2: 2/04/20, 7/4/20: Brown-Eared Bulbul, the Gypsy Bird?!?

The fascinating brown-eared bulbul, common in Japan but not as ordinary as you might think!

Note: First pic of the post in at Shinrakuji Temple in Miyota, the other two at my apartment backyard again.

There was so much more I could write in the Insta post description…but don’t want to overwhelm the photo so I’ll write/link it here instead.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/03/08/environment/noisy-bulbuls-change-with-the-seasons/

The above post describes how brown-eared bulbul, usually living in small groups of 3-5, can congregrate and “migrate” in huge flocks to different areas. However they don’t all migrate at once and to the same place…so to us, it seems as if they are always around. However, if you notice bulbuls which left and suddenly came back. odds are they’re different individuals!

That explains why the group that I so often spotted outside my window suddenly disappeared for about a month, and now I am seeing bulbuls again! They must be a different group–perhaps the old lot hopskipped north to Hokkaido according to warmth or fruit (see link articled for details) and this lot came up from Tokyo or further south. Fascinating!

Rather than a proper migration, these birds really seem to just cruise around according to what fits their present conditions. If I was a bird, I wouldn’t mind a gypsy-like lifestyle like the brown-eared bulbul.

Even more facts:


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