Red-Vented Bulbul: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Wild Mix · day 4 of 4

Five facts

1. The red-vented bulbul was one of the first animals besides humans found to be unable to make its own vitamin C.
2. The bulbul munches fruits, flower petals, nectar, insects and even house geckos.
3. In Hawaii, chemical repellents were used to keep these birds off orchid crops, but the birds learn to avoid the chemicals.
4. Both parents feed the chicks. For the first few days they swallow the chicks' droppings, and later carry them away.
5. The pied crested cuckoo lays its eggs in red-vented bulbul nests, leaving the bulbuls to raise its chicks.

The quiz

1. Which vitamin can the red-vented bulbul not make itself?

• Vitamin C (correct)
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin K

The bulbul cannot synthesize vitamin C.

2. Which animal is on the bulbul's menu?

• Frogs
• Mice
• House geckos (correct)
• Snails

It eats fruits, petals, nectar, insects and even house geckos.

3. What happened with chemical repellents in Hawaii?

• The birds loved them
• The birds learned to avoid them (correct)
• They killed the fruit
• They made the birds sing

The birds learn to avoid the repellent chemicals.

4. What do the parents do with the faecal sacs at first?

• Bury them
• Hang them in trees
• Feed them to the cuckoo
• Swallow them (correct)

For the first few days the parents swallow the droppings; later they carry them away.

5. Which bird lays its eggs in the bulbul's nest?

• The hoopoe
• The cattle egret
• The pied crested cuckoo (correct)
• The chaffinch

The pied crested cuckoo lays its eggs in bulbul nests.

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