The Brown-eared Bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis) is a medium-sized bulbul which is found from the Russian Far East (including Sakhalin), northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan, south to Taiwan and the Babuyan and Batanes island chains in the north of the Philippines, occasionally being found in Luzon. It is extremely common within the northern parts of its range, and is a familiar bird throughout Japan, where it is called hiyodori (ƒqƒˆƒhƒŠ). In Taiwan on the other hand it is rare and limited to Orchid Island 1.

Reaching a length of about 28 cm, Brown-eared Bulbuls are grayish-brown, with brown cheeks (the "brown ears" of the common name) and a long tail. While they prefer forested areas, they readily adapt to urban and rural environments, and their noisy squeaking calls are a familiar sound in most areas of Japan.