Brown-eared Bulbul

Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) is a medium-sized grey-brown bulbul with chestnut-brown ear coverts, a long tail and a slightly peaked head. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is widespread in eastern Asia and common across much of Japan, feeding noisily on fruit, nectar and insects in forests, gardens and towns and making seasonal movements in colder parts of its range. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).