{"id":488718,"date":"2026-01-03T05:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/488718\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T05:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:15:16","slug":"hunt-for-escaped-red-whiskered-bulbul-that-has-sas-fruitgrowers-worried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/488718\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunt for escaped red-whiskered bulbul that has SA’s fruitgrowers worried"},"content":{"rendered":"

With its striking black mohawk and red cheeks, the red-whiskered bulbul could be mistaken for a bird-watchers’ delight.<\/p>\n

But instead, this bird has become one of South Australia’s “most wanted”, prompting concerns for the state’s $2 billion horticulture sector and highlighting what the Invasive Species Council calls a gap in the nation’s biosecurity.<\/p>\n

Authorities have been searching for the single red-whiskered bulbul since it was spotted in Adelaide’s north several weeks ago \u2014 having likely escaped captivity despite being illegal to keep in the state.<\/p>\n

The invasive species has become established in parts of NSW and Queensland, where it is damaging crops, spreading weeds and competing with native birds.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Red-whiskered bulbuls are native to southern Asia, but introduced to Australia in the early 1900s. (Supplied: Jay Yeung.)<\/p>\n

Invasive Species Council senior advocate James Johnson was concerned there could be more out there.<\/p>\n

“This could be a start of a new invasion if we don’t act quickly,” Mr Johnson said.<\/p>\n

“That species of bird is banned here in SA, so it’s been likely brought in by someone wanting to keep it as a pet.<\/p>\n

“We haven’t found this bird yet, so we’re actually calling on the public to keep an eye out and report any sightings.”<\/p>\n

Mr Johnson said the bulbul was implicated in the spread of weeds like feral olive trees in Western Sydney, and posed a major risk to the environment and agricultural areas.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Invasive Species Council SA-based senior advocate James Johnson. (Supplied: Invasive Species Council.)<\/p>\n

“It’s been spotted in Salisbury \u2014 that’s not too far from our agricultural areas in the north of Adelaide and it could very easily get into these fruit picking areas and do a lot of damage,” he said.<\/p>\n

Authorities hunting bird<\/p>\n

In a statement, a spokesperson from South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries (PIRSA) said the SA sighting was first reported in late November.<\/p>\n

“The red-whiskered bulbul is a high-risk pest bird that can damage SA’s vineyards and orchards by eating soft fruit, flower buds and insects, potentially reducing yields or causing crop failure and threatening the state’s $1.8 billion wine and $2.08 billion horticulture industries,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“Established populations have caused significant problems for soft-fruit and citrus growers interstate and overseas, highlighting the risk and cost if they become established here.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

PIRSA has distributed information in the area to try and track the bird down and “eliminate the potential threat”.<\/p>\n

Growers count damage<\/p>\n

Last summer, birds caused huge losses to orchards around Adelaide, reportedly stripping entire trees of their fruit in just minutes.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Adelaide Hills apple grower Mark Filsell says birds can quickly decimate unprotected orchards. (Supplied: Mark Filsell.)<\/p>\n

Forest Range apple and cherry grower Mark Filsell’s trees were swarmed last summer \u2014 mainly by lorikeets that were prolific in the area \u2014 but thankfully this year their numbers were low and damage was so far minimal.<\/p>\n

He had seen alerts about the renegade bulbul, and did not want the species adding to the problem pest birds already caused the region’s fruitgrowers.<\/p>\n

“For growers it’s a massive expense to have to cover their whole orchard, because you get lorikeets during the day and then at night, bats,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr Filsell said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve seen it in places like Victoria where if you don’t net your orchard, you get nothing.”<\/p>\n

Biosecurity warning<\/p>\n

Mr Johnson said the bulbul’s appearance in Adelaide also raised concerns about potential gaps in the nation’s biosecurity.<\/p>\n

“The Australian government really needs to be thinking about rigorously protecting our environment and agricultural industries at the border,” Mr Johnson said.<\/p>\n

“But there’s also a conversation we need to have around these species coming across state borders and the work that needs to be done and money that needs to be invested in tackling these species when they do come up.<\/p>\n

“Biosecurity, at the end of the day, is every Australian’s responsibility.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

Netting entire orchards to protect from bird and bat damage can be costly and time-consuming for fruitgrowers. (ABC News: Cara Jeffery)<\/p>\n

SA has recorded two small incursions of red-whiskered bulbuls in recent years \u2014 10 wild birds in the Adelaide Hills in 2017 and eight illegally kept birds in West Croydon in 2018.<\/p>\n

PIRSA said all of these birds were either captured or removed.<\/p>\n

Keeping a red-whiskered bulbul in captivity is illegal and can result in a fine.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about breeding or sightings is urged to contact PIRSA Biosecurity or report it to the Pest Alert Hotline on 1800 084 881.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With its striking black mohawk and red cheeks, the red-whiskered bulbul could be mistaken for a bird-watchers’ delight.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":488719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[220495,4740,58619,25236,81081,9448,23696,50,109568,76995,220496,145589],"class_list":{"0":"post-488718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-apples","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-biosecurity","11":"tag-bird","12":"tag-crops","13":"tag-fruit","14":"tag-invasive","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-orchard","17":"tag-pest","18":"tag-red-whiskered-bulbul","19":"tag-salisbury"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115829468405860163","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}