Pycnonotus xantholaemus

VULNERABLE

Uma Maheshwaram Temple Complex, Telangana

In this sixth part on the series on bulbuls, we return home to the beautiful state of Telangana in India and the forests surrounding Hyderabad - the state capital - on the trail of the Yellow-throated Bulbul.

Telangana is a state in southern India with Hyderabad as its capital. Hyderabad is home to the Charminar, a 16th-century mosque with 4 arches supporting 4 towering minarets. The monument overlooks the city's long-running Laad Bazaar. Laad Bazaar or Choodi Bazaar is a very old market popular for bangles located on one of the four main roads that branch out from the historic Charminar. Laad meaning lacquer is used to make bangles, on which artificial diamonds are studded. In this 1-kilometre (0.62 mi)-long shopping strip, most of the shops sell bangles, sarees, wedding related items, and imitation jewellery. Once the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, the sprawling Golconda Fort is a former diamond-trading center.

The following are some photos I had taken in 2014 during the festive season of Ramzan. The camera was my trusty Canon 400D & my old kit lens.

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Being located in the Deccan Plateau in the central stretch, Telangana has sub-tropical climate and the terrain consists mostly of hills, mountain ranges, and thick dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km². The annual rainfall ranges between 1,100 mm to 1,200 mm and the annual temperature varies from 15 C to 45 C. The State is drained by a number of rivers which include Godavari and Krishna.

Telangana is endowed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has dense teak forests on the northern part along the banks of river Godavari. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Telangana belong to three Forest Type Groups, which are further divided into 12 Forest Types. The State Government has taken up a massive greening programme, 'Telangana Ku Harita Haram' in the State to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over a period of 4 years. This initiative aims at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the forest cover and reduce pressure on the existing forest resources, through massive community participation by Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSS) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in Protected Areas and Watershed Development Committees in the Watershed areas. Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 26,904 km² of which 20,353 km² is Reserved Forest, 5,939 km² is Protected Forest and 612 km² is Unclassed Forests. In Telangana, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 9,420 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF & CC, 2019). As per the information received from the State during that last two years, 12,730 ha of plantations including avenue plantations in the State.

Three National Parks and nine Wildlife Sanctuaries constitute the Protected Area network of the State covering 5.08% of its geographical area.

India is home to around 18 species of bulbul,

• Hypsipetes leucocephalus - Black Bulbul

• Pycnonotus leucogenys - Himalayan Bulbul

• Pycnonotus cafer - Red-vented Bulbul

• Hemixos flavala - Ashy Bulbul

• Brachypodius melanocephalos - Black-headed Bulbul

• Brachypodius fuscoflavescens - Andaman Bulbul

• Ixos nicobariensis - Nicobar Bulbul

• Spizixos canifrons - Finch-billed Bulbul

• Pycnonotus jocosus - Red-whiskered Bulbul

• Rubigula flaviventris - Black-crested Bulbul

• Pycnonotus leucotis - White-eared Bulbul

• Acritillas indica - Yellow-browed Bulbul

• Pycnonotus luteolus - White-browed Bulbul

• Pycnonotus xantholaemus - Yellow-throated Bulbul (featured here)

• Brachypodius priocephalus - Grey-headed Bulbul

• Rubigula gularis - Flame-throated Bulbul

• Hypsipetes ganeesa - Square-tailed Bulbul

• Alophoixus flaveolus - White-throated Bulbul

With that said lets move on to the some I have already written about:

1. Streak-eared Bulbul

2. Yellow-bellied Bulbul

3. Flavescent Bulbul

4. Sooty-headed Bulbul

5. Red-whiskered Bulbul

And now onto the Vulnerable Yellow-throated Bulbul. These birds were photographed in and around the temple complex of Uma Maheshwaram. This is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva located in the Nallamala Forest around 100 km from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Srisailam highway, about 4 kms from the village of Rangapur, Achampet.

Uma Maheshwaram is the northern gateway of Srisailam — one of the jyotirlingas, on a hill surrounded by high trees. Nearby hills shield the Uma Maheshwaram temple and the 500-metre stretch to PapaNasanam from sunlight for most of the day, maintaining a temperature lower than the surroundings through out the year. The area abounds in flora and fauna like this beautiful and vulnerable Yellow-throated Bulbul.

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For a print of the beautiful birds from my various sojourns click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.

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Yellow-throated Bulbul

The yellow-throated bulbul (Pycnonotus xantholaemus) is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which are threatened by granite quarrying. It is confusable only with the white-browed bulbul with which its range overlaps but is distinctively yellow on the head and throat apart from the yellow vent. The calls of this species are very similar to that of the white-browed bulbul which will be my next blog. 

The species is included in the Vulnerable (Vu) category of the Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2006).

This species as been recorded from 73 localities of southern India, with all recent records from hills south of 16°N and east of 76°E. It seems to be locally common, but appears to be declining. Recent surveys of 18 localities found that it had completely disappeared from six historical sites (BirdLife International 2006). According to Subramanya (2004) and Subramanya et al. this species can be found wherever its typical, preferred habitat exists — hence it occurs on most inland hills of southern India, including parts of the Eastern Ghats, and inland hills of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. On the Western Ghats, Subramanya (2004) mentions that it is present only on the drier eastern hill slopes, where it has been sighted at a couple of localities. Reference: Indian Birds Vol. 2 No. 6 (November–December 2006).

This uncrested species of bulbul is olive grey above with a yellow throat, undertail coverts and tail tips. The head is plain while the breast and belly have a grey wash. The closest resembling species is the white-browed bulbul but this has a supercilium and lacks the yellow throat. Males and females are similar in plumage. 

The habitat of the species is rocky, scrub covered hills mostly in the Eastern Ghats and central peninsular India but also in some places in the Western Ghats. The distribution is highly fragmented and populations are very local, making hilly habitats a very special conservation concern. Many of these hill forests are threatened by granite quarrying, forest fires and grazing.

It has vanished from many sites where it was earlier known. Some well known locations in South India include the Nandi Hills, Horsley Hills, Gingee, Yercaud and the Biligirirangans. The species is also seen in some parts of the Western Ghats including the Anamalais. The northern limit is believed to be in the Nallamala range but it is suspected that the species may extend in range into the northern Eastern Ghats of Orissa. This bird is usually shy and hidden within scrub and is usually detected by its sudden cackling outbursts of calls which are similar to those of the white-browed bulbul. They feed on insects and the berries of various scrub plant species. During hot afternoons and in the dry-season they visit pools of water both to drink and bathe. The breeding season is June to August and the nest is built in the fork of small tree.

I have the good fortune to have photographed quite a few of these often ignored birds like the Yellow-throated Bulbul featured here, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Red-eyed Bulbul, Red-vented Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Olive-winged bulbul & the Cream-vented bulbul.

These bulbuls were photographed within and around the Uma Maheshwaram temple complex where they come down to feed. I have used the Canon 7D Mark ii paired with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. The lens is probably the sharpest lens I have used to photograph birds at close range.

With that said I think it is time to move onto the gallery of this beautiful bulbul.

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