Pycnonotus cafer (bird)

Ecology Distribution Management Info Impact Info References and Links Contacts

General Impact Pycnonotus cafer (red-vented bulbuls) are reported to destroy fruits, flowers, beans, tomatoes, peas and ripe fruit (e.g. bananas and other soft fruits), (Dept. of Agriculture - WA undated). They may also help in the spread of seeds of other invasive species.          Location Specific Impacts: French Polynesia (Polynésie Française)   Threat to endangered species: A three-year study showed that significantly more red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and common myna (Acridotheres tristis) were present in territories that experienced nest failure or early fledgling death of the critically endangered Tahiti flycatcher (see Pomarea nigra in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) (BirdLife International 2006). Tahiti Is. (French Polynesia (Polynésie Française))     Competition: An aggressive bird, the red vented bulbul is a threat to the critically endangered Tahiti monarch (see Pomarea nigra in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) (Blanvillain et al., 2003; BirdLife International 2006). Majuro Is. (Marshall Islands)   Interaction with other invasive species: Lantana (Lantana camara) berries are eaten by the red-vented bulbul and viable seeds are subsequently passed through the bird's system. This serves as an effective means of spreading this plant. Also Miconia calvascens, which has devastated many areas of Polynesia, is spread in the same way by the red-vented bulbul (Medeiros et al.. 1997, Loope 1997).