This small bird has a short crest and a red vent. In its native range on the Indian subcontinent, it feeds in scrub and farmland.
Its short crest gives the head a square shape. The head is dark, the body has a scaly pattern, the rump is white, and the vent is red.
In 2020, researchers studied 52 Red-vented Bulbul nests in cultivated areas of Bajaur Valley, northwestern Pakistan. They were placed among middle branches or forks of trees, at an average height of about 2.9 m above the ground.
The nests were round to oblong. Dry grass made up 48% of the recorded materials, crop leaves 35%, and plastic string 10%; the remaining 7% was unidentified. At two nests, both males and females carried material, and nest building lasted four days. The nests occurred in five tree species; 14 were in Ailanthus altissima and 12 in white mulberry. In this study, breeding ran from mid-April to July and occurred once per year; the full cycle lasted about 90 days. Incubation averaged about 12 days and nestlings stayed in the nest for about 13 days.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Weekly surveys of the Tuensang market in Nagaland from May 2009 to April 2010 recorded 43 Red-vented Bulbuls. Across all bird species, the survey counted 1,870 birds, of which 1,864 appeared during the October–March dry season. The authors list catapults, snares, and air guns among the methods used to hunt birds.