White-browed Bulbul

White-browed Bulbul

Pycnonotus luteolus

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Minneriya National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%

244 Verified sightings at Minneriya National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,543 In all 14 parks
September Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the White-browed Bulbul

The white-browed bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in Sri Lanka and peninsular India. Largely olive coloured above with whitish underparts, it has a pale supercilium and a yellow vent. They are found in dense scrub habitats, where they skulk within vegetation and can be difficult to see although their loud and distinct burst of calls is distinctive.

It has olive-grey upperparts and whitish underparts. This species is identifiable by the white supercilium, white crescent below the eye, and dark eyestripe and moustachial stripe. The vent is yellowish and there is some yellow on the chin and moustache. The throat is, however, largely whitish unlike in the similar looking and sounding yellow-throated bulbul, which is found in rockier habitats. Three or four hair-like filoplumes are... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:39

India · 2022

© Sathyan Meppayur · XC741608 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:19

India · 2019

© Sandip das · XC633433 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:13

Sri Lanka · 2015

© Simon Elliott · XC595464 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~50%
2 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~50%
3 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
4 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
5 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
6 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
7 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
8 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
11 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
12 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
13 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
14 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
~50%
2 Mysuru 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Bhubaneshwar 🇮🇳 India
~20%
4 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~20%
5 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
~20%
6 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
7 Vasai-Virar 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Puducherry 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Nagpur 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Mumbai 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-browed Bulbul in Minneriya National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Bulbul sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 244 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 155 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-browed Bulbul in Minneriya National Park?

September

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Bulbul in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month. That is one of Minneriya National Park's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 340 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see a White-browed Bulbul?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Bulbul sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Minneriya National Park the best place to see a White-browed Bulbul?

3rd of 14

Of the 14 parks where we can rate White-browed Bulbul sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%) and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 50%). All parks ranked.

Where does the White-browed Bulbul sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-browed Bulbul is recorded against all the birds logged in Minneriya National Park (244 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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