The African Red-eyed Bulbul is a very common south-west African resident. And is near-endemic with some movement between different regions.
Appearance: The African Red-eyed Bulbul is also known as the black-fronted bulbul. The body is brown with a light black chest, yellow vent, brown wings and tail and a black head with a slightly peaked crown. This gives the bird a distinctly squarish head shape. It is similar to the Dark-capped Bulbul, with a conspicuous wide orange eye-ring. Male and female birds are alike. In juveniles, the eye ring is narrower and yellowish-pink.
Size: The African Red-eyed Bulbul is around 19-21cm long and weighs between 21 and 37g.
Habitat: Occurs near water sources in dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry shrub land. They will visit gardens if there is water available.
Feeding Habits: Eats fruits, berries and nectar. They are also partial to spiders and insects.
Call: Similar to the Black-fronted Bulbul. The call consists of loud whistles and sounds like, “Wake up, Gregory!”. The African Red-eyed Bulbul is particularly vocal in the morning.
Breeding: Between December and February, 2 or 3 eggs are laid in a nest woven from dry twigs and grass held together with spider silk.
