• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2012	Near Threatened	B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2008	Near Threatened	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,iv,v)
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	shelf island	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	13,300 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	3.64 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as abundant in the central provinces of Sri Lanka, particularly above elevations of 850 m (del Hoyo et al. 2005; E. Goodale in litt. 2020).

Trend justification: Forest loss has been low within the species's range in recent years, equating to population declines of <2% (Global Forest Watch 2020) over three generations (10.9 years). The species is also able to persist and indeed may be abundant within degraded agricultural areas (Goodale et al. 2014; E. Goodale in litt. 2020). In the absence of substantial evidence of a decline and low immediate risk (Fishpool and Tobias 2020) the species's population trend is suspected to be stable. Given the small range of the species continued monitoring of abundance and rates of habitat loss remains important in order to detect population changes.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Sri Lanka	Agrapatana-Bopaththalawa
Sri Lanka	Dikoya
Sri Lanka	Dotalugala / Rassagala
Sri Lanka	Hakgala / Meepilimana
Sri Lanka	Haputale
Sri Lanka	Horton plains / Ohiya / Pattipola-Ambewela
Sri Lanka	Kandapola-Seethaeliya / Pedro
Sri Lanka	Knuckles Range (Knuckles IBA)
Sri Lanka	Morningside and Handapan Ella Plains (Sinharaja IBA)
Sri Lanka	Namunukula
Sri Lanka	Nuwara Eliya
Sri Lanka	Peak Wilderness Sanctuary
Sri Lanka	Tangamalai

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Moist	suitable	resident
Altitude	850 - 2200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus penicillatus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-eared-bulbul-pycnonotus-penicillatus on 25/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 25/12/2024.