It is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Bhutan and Nepal.

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red-vented bulbul in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

He used the French name Le merle hupé du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Merula Cristata Capitis Bonae Spei.

[5] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

[6] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Turdus cafer and cited Brisson's work.

The type location was later changed to Sri Lanka[8] and then in 1952 designated as Pondicherry in India by the German naturalist Erwin Stresemann.

[14][15][16] Eight subspecies are recognized:[13] The red-vented bulbul is easily identified by its short crest giving the head a squarish appearance.

[21][22][23][24] An individual with aberrant colour form was observed in Bhavans College Campus, Andheri, Mumbai.

A study based on 54 localities in India concluded that vegetation is the single most important factor that determines the distribution of the species.

Methiocarb and ziram have been used to protect cultivated Dendrobium orchids in Hawaii from damage by these birds; however, they learn to avoid the repellent chemicals.

[39]: 48 Red-vented bulbuls feed on fruits, petals of flowers,[40] nectar, insects and occasionally house geckos (Hemidactylus flaviviridis).

[56] Fires, heavy rains and predators are the main causes of fledgling mortality in scrub habitats in southern India.

[59] The red-vented bulbul was among the first animals other than humans that was found to be incapable of synthesizing vitamin C.[60][61] However, a large number of other birds were later found to likewise lack the ability to synthesize vitamin C.[62] Like most birds, these bulbuls are hosts to coccidian blood parasites (Isospora sp.

[64] Along with red-whiskered bulbuls this species has led to changes in the population dynamics of butterfly morphs on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

[53] Indians frequently tame it and carry it about the bazaars, tied with a string to the finger or to a little crutched perch, which is often made of precious metals or jade; while there are few Europeans who do not recollect Eha's immortal phrase anent the red patch in the seat of its trousers.In the state of Assam, India, (the Bulbul (বুলবুলী) bird as it is known in Assamese), the male birds were held captive for a few days and were engaged in fights as a spectator sport[39]: 49  in the Bihu festival during the Ahom rule.