This bulbul is recorded throughout the Western Ghats of southern India. It has a slate-grey to black body, a black crest, and a red bill and legs. A study of 81 nests in Silent Valley National Park found breeding from January to June, with a peak in April and May.
Its body is slate-grey to black, with a black crest and a slightly forked tail. The bill, legs, and feet are red.
At Silent Valley National Park in the Western Ghats, researchers studied 81 nests from 2003 to 2005. Breeding occurred from January to June and peaked in April–May. The shallow cup nests were placed in trees 1.2–11 m above ground.
The paper describes wet evergreen and shola forests, as well as eucalyptus, shade-coffee, tea, and cardamom plantations. Seasonal movements to lower elevations are reported.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.