This bulbul is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long, lacks a crest and has the upperparts olive-green with a prominent yellow brow and goggle with the underparts being all yellow. The sexes do not differ in plumage. The bill is black and the iris is reddish brown. The population in the northern Western Ghats (ssp. icterica) is paler yellow than the populations further south (ssp. indica). A somewhat disjunct population is found in the Eastern Ghats. Southwestern Sri Lankan populations (ssp. gugliemi) are greener while the northern populations are included in the nominate subspecies.
The yellow-browed bulbul has been considered as the wet-zone counterpart of the dry-zone white-browed bulbul. It is found mainly below the forest canopy of the hill forests and plantations in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. They also occur in parts of the Eastern Ghats including the Kolli hills, Nallamalas and parts of Tirupathi and Mamandur regions in Andhra Pradesh.
Yellow-browed bulbuls are found in pairs or small groups and call loudly. They feed mainly on berries and insects. The breeding season is during the dry spell before the monsoons, mainly January to May. The nest is a cup built in a low fork covered with moss and cobwebs on the outside, giving the appearance of a large white-eye nest, and lined with fine root fibres. The typical clutch size in India is three eggs and in Sri Lanka two. A study of 153 nests in Silent Valley National Park of India found 92% of nests had two eggs. Peak breeding in the Silent Valley National Park of Kerala was found in January and February. About a week is taken for building the nest and the eggs are incubated for about 13 days. The eggs are pale pink or white with reddish brown speckling. The eggs hatch synchronously and the nestlings fledge after about 13 days. Nestlings are fed with caterpillars, soft insects and berries.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acritillas indica.
Dickinson, E.C. & Gregory, S.M.S. (2002). "Systematic notes on Asian birds. 24. On the priority of the name Hypsipetes Vigors, 1831, and the division of the broad genus of that name". Zool. Verh. Leiden. 340: 75–91. http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/46722
Ernst Mayr Ernst & James C. Greenway Jr., eds. (1960). Check-list of birds of the World. Volume IX. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 289–290. https://archive.org/stream/checklistofbirds91960pete#page/289/mode/1up
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Oates, EW (1889). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 283–284. https://archive.org/stream/birdsindia01oaterich#page/283/mode/1up
Fuchs, Jérôme; Pasquet, Eric; Stuart, Bryan L; Woxvold, Iain A; Duckworth, J. W; Bowie, Rauri C. K (2018). "Phylogenetic affinities of the enigmatic Bare-faced Bulbul Pycnonotus hualon with description of a new genus". Ibis. 160 (3): 659. doi:10.1111/ibi.12580. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
"Bulbuls « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2017-06-01. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/bulbuls/
Ernst Mayr Ernst & James C. Greenway Jr., eds. (1960). Check-list of birds of the World. Volume IX. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 289–290. https://archive.org/stream/checklistofbirds91960pete#page/289/mode/1up
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Ernst Mayr Ernst & James C. Greenway Jr., eds. (1960). Check-list of birds of the World. Volume IX. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 289–290. https://archive.org/stream/checklistofbirds91960pete#page/289/mode/1up
Rasmussen, PC & Anderton, JC (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Washington, DC and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. pp. 341–342.
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Karthikeyan, S (1997). "Yellowbrowed Bulbul Hypsipetes indicus (Jerdon) in the Kolli Hills (Tamil Nadu), Eastern Ghats". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 94 (3): 570–571. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48601948
Srinivasulu, C; Rao, V Vasudeva (2000). "Occurrence of the Yellowbrowed Bulbul Hypsipetes indicus (Jerdon) in the Nalamalla Hills, Andhra Pradesh". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 97 (1): 144–145. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48567570
Santharam, V (1991). "Yellowbrowed Bulbul Hypsipetes indicus (Jerdon) in the Eastern Ghats". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 88 (2): 287–288. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48673709
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.
Rasmussen, PC & Anderton, JC (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Washington, DC and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. pp. 341–342.
Balakrishnan, Peroth (2009). "Breeding ecology and nest-site selection of yellow-browed bulbul Iole indica in Western Ghats, India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 106 (2): 176–183. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48379183
Balakrishnan, Peroth (2009). "Breeding ecology and nest-site selection of yellow-browed bulbul Iole indica in Western Ghats, India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 106 (2): 176–183. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48379183
Baker, EC Stuart (1922). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Volume 1 (2 ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 405–406. https://archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin01bake#page/405/mode/1up
Balakrishnan, Peroth (2009). "Breeding ecology and nest-site selection of yellow-browed bulbul Iole indica in Western Ghats, India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 106 (2): 176–183. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48379183
Ali, S & Ripley, SD (1996). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 6 (2 ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 104–107.