Originally brought to Hawaii as a pet and released into the wild in the 1950’s, the red-vented bulbul is now present in large numbers across Oʻahu. Both males and females have a dark black crested head, gray-brown body and chest, a long tail tipped with white, and a bright red patch beneath the tail. The red-vented bulbul’s calls include a variety of chirps and whistles, with their typical three syllable call being transcribed as ‘ginger beer‘.

The map below shows hotspots along our birding trails where you might see this bird.