Brown-eared Bulbul

Characteristics

A bird that is characterized by a loud cry called "hee yo hee yo". It is one size larger than a starling, with a wingspan of about 40 cm. The whole body from the head to the back is gray, and the tail feathers are tinged with brown. It is brown from the cheeks to the neck. The feathers on the top of the head may stand up, creating a jagged silhouette. The beak is black, narrow and pointed.

It has a unique way of flying, and like a wagtail, it repeats flapping and gliding to create a wavy trajectory.

Calls

As the name suggests, it cries with a voice of "hee yo hee yo". In addition to this cry, it makes various sounds such as "beep-beep" and "beep-beep-beep".

Ecology

In Japan, you can usually see them in towns and parks. It likes sweets and eats nectar and fruit from flowers, but it also eats insects normally. In spring, it may eat the nectar of cherry blossoms. They act in pairs and sometimes fight in the forest.

In autumn, they migrate in groups. In some places, flocks of over 1,000 birds can be found.

Habitat

The photo was taken at the side of a park in Hachioji city. I was fascinated by the canabens that had fallen to the ground. He used his thin beak skillfully to catch it and swallow it whole.

It is a bird that is so familiar that you can see it on a daily basis, but it is interesting to observe it. They fight and chase each other through the woods, and fly away in groups from the roosting trees in the early morning to go to work.