Red-whiskered Bulbul (Introduced)
Pycnonotus jocosus
Origin:
Family: Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls, this is the only species in Australia)
Size: 20 cm
Distribution: Very small parts of NSW, VIC and QLD, including around Sydney
Status: Common to locally common
Habitat: Urban areas
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
Although the Red-whiskered Bulbul is introduced, it seems like a "nice" bird, unlike many of the other introduced birds such as the Feral Pigeon, the Common Myna and others.
They make a variety of several nice melodic sounds, and are usually seen in groups of two or three, perhaps four or even five occasionally.
The Red-whiskered Bulbul has a crest on the top of the head which is quite distinctive, and tiny red patches behind the eye and under its tail that are usually hard to see. Juvenile bulbuls are pink under the tail and have no red patch behind the eye.

Photo: Blaxland, Blue Mountains NSW

Photo: Blaxland, Blue Mountains NSW
Some Birdwatching Resources
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NEW: Know Your Birds, by Louise Egerton. Revised edition 3 July 2019. Paperback / softback, 176 pages. It has an orange cover. The original edition was 2005 and has a blue cover. Some of the book sellers listed here show the photo from the original/older blue cover edition, but the rest of the info (including the publication date and ISBN) are from the newer revised 2019 edition, so presumably that's the one you'll get.
This book has very high quality large photographs of the birds (as in actual photographs). Most of the photos take up a whole page for each bird photograph. "Know Your Birds" only has a selection of the most common birds, and not all the birds that are found in Australia. This makes it very good for beginners — since most of the field guides have all the birds — and it can be confusing looking at six almost identical species of birds, not knowing that five of them are rare and it's probably the common one that you're looking for. Which would be the only one listed in this book.
Purchase from Australia (The Nile)
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Purchase from Amazon.com.au (Australian Site)
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