Principal source:
Amiot, C., Lorvelec, O., Mandon-Dalger, I., Sardella, A., Lequilliec, P., & Cleargeau, P. 2007. Rapid morphological divergence of introduced Red-whiskered Bulbuls Pyconotus jocosus in contrasting environments. Ibis, 149: 482-489.\r\n
Carleton, A.R. &Owre, O.T. 1975. The Red-whiskered Bulbul in Florida: 1960-71. The Auk, 92(1): 40-57.\r\n\r\n
Clergeau, P. & Mandon-Dalger, I. 2001. Fast colonization of an introduced bird: the case of Pycnonotus jocosus on the Mascarene Island. Biotropica 33(3): 542-546.\r\n\r\n
Islam, K., & Williams, R.N. 2000. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus). In A. Poole & F. Gills (Eds.), The Birds of North America, No. 520. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.\r\n
Linnebjerg, J.F., Hansen, D.M. & Olesen, J.M. 2009. Gut-passage effect of the introduced Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) on germination of invasive plant species in Mauritius. Austral Ecology 34:272–277. \r\n\r\n
Linnebjerg, J.F., Hansen, D.M., Bunbury, N. & Olesen, J.M. In press. Diet composition of the invasive red-whiskered bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus in Mauritius. Journal of Tropical Ecology.
Compiler: National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) & IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
Review: Jannie Linnebjerg, National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Aarhus University
Nancy Bunbury, Seychelles Island Foundation
Publication date: 2008-01-25
Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Pycnonotus jocosus. Downloaded from http://iucngisd.org/gisd/speciesname/Pycnonotus+jocosus on 31-08-2024.
Preventative measures: Most of its spread may be contributed to human transport, be it accidental escape from zoos or gardens or intentional and unintentional release of cage birds. More care in the keeping and transport of red-whiskered bulbuls would greatly reduce its spread to new locations. Governmental preventative measures have been fairly successful in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Code of Federal Regulation strictly prohibits their importation to the U.S. and its territories. The Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources distributed brochures and flyers to the public in the 1980s informing them about P. jocosus and requesting that any sightings be reported. No new populations were established outside of Oahu (Islam & Williams, 2000).
Cultural: Since red-whiskered bulbuls are common cage birds in many parts of the world, the public should be informed of environmental threats they impose and be cautious in their keeping and transport.
Physical: Eradication or relocation is an option in invaded areas. P. jocosus was successfully captured using cages with a decoy and fruit as bait by a pest control program in La Réunion (Amiot et al., 2007).
Chemical: The use of pesticides and bird lime by farmers to protect their crops from bulbuls in the Mascarenes has been successful (Clergeau & Mandon-Dalger, 2000). Repellents methiocarb, ziram, and methyl anthranilate were successfully used to reduce the consumption of papaya by the closely related red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) by 65% (Islam & Williams, 2000).