[1][3] It is endemic to the Western Ghats in south-western India, and found from Goa south to Tamil Nadu at altitudes up to 1200m.

It was moved to Brachypodius poiocephalus by Edward Blyth, who erroneously "emended" the species epithet, with subsequent confusion in the literature.

[5][2] The genus Pycnonotus was found to be polyphyletic in recent molecular phylogeny studies and the species returned to Brachypodius.

This bulbul is resident in moist broad-leaved evergreen forest with bamboo and dense undergrowth.

[10] The call is distinct in having a single syllable unlike those of the core genus Pycnonotus members.

[10] Found singly or in small groups, grey-headed bulbuls actively join mixed-species foraging flocks during the non-breeding season.

Many nests in a study in the Silent Valley National park were found to be made on saplings of Syzygium species or in reeds of Ochlandra travancorica.