A Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis was found and photographed today on Eocheong Island, during a survey on behalf of the Korean National Institute of Environmental Research.
Eocheong Island is 70 km west of Gunsan City, and (very approximately) 300 km southeast of Shandong peninsula, the nearest part of the Light-vented coast, and the bird was found after a prolonged period (several days) of strong northwesterly winds. Light-vented Bulbuls are kept as cage-birds in China, but there are no cage birds known on the island - in fact keeping cage birds is (fortunately) not very popular in South Korea.
The Light-vented Bulbul was not listed in Lee, Koo, and Park (2000) and there are presumably no other records for Korea, but we are of course sending out requests for information to that effect. There are five subspecies recognised (Howard and Moore), and we would be interested to hear from anyone who is able to name which taxon this bird belongs to.
We will be producing a more detailed report on this sighting in due course. The English version will be posted on this site, and a Korean version will be made available on Eocheong for the islanders as part of a larger report we are working on to encourage the islanders to consider embracing ecotourism in an attempt to halt the destruction of the island's best habitats - surveying on Eocheong has already produced some notable records, including Ferruginous Flycatcher, Crag Martin, Rose-colored Starling, and Rufous-bellied Woodpecker this year.
