Just before dusk, the Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) gather at their roosting site where they preen and socialise LINK. When all the bulbuls are gathered, at around dusk, they move to their usual roosting trees. But they do not settle down at once.
The bulbuls continue to move around the roosting trees flying here and there and moving around the trees until they settle down in their favourite perch, possibly according to hierarchy. This is because settling down towards the top and sides of the tree where there is no shelter from other trees or even the walls of buildings expose them to the elements and potential predators. Again, settling down below exposes them to droppings from those above.
YC Wee
Singapore
26th September 2017
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