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BULBULS  - Asia

Order Passeriformes   Family Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are a family of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. Most species that are called "bulbuls" are found in Asia, a few are found in Africa. All species that are called "greenbuls" are found in Africa.

Bulbuls are short-necked and slender. The tails are long and the wings short and rounded. In almost all species the bill is slightly elongated and slightly hooked at the end. They vary in length from 13 cm to 29 cm. Overall the sexes are alike, although the females tend to be slightly smaller. The soft plumage of some species is colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throat or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive brown to black plumage. Species with dull coloured eyes often sport contrasting eyerings. Some have very distinct crests. Bulbuls are highly vocal, with the calls of most species being described as nasal or gravelly. Bulbuls eat a wide range of different foods, ranging from fruit to seeds, nectar, small insects and other arthropods and even small vertebrates. The bulbuls are generally monogamous.

African Bulbuls

Genus Alophoixus

Bulbul,_Buru_Golden-  Alophoixus mystacalis  Found: Buru, Moluccas, Indonesia
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be mystacalis.
Image by: 1) Michael_Poulsen  2) Jon_Hornbuckle


Bulbul,_Finsch's  Alophoixus finschii  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Gary_Kinard
1) Left: Dinsch's Bulbul   Right: Sulpher-Bellied Bulbul


Bulbul,_Gray-cheeked  Alophoixus bres  Found: Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
Image by: 1) Choy_Wai_Mun - Malaysia


Bulbul,_Gray-throated also Palawan Bulbul  Alophoixus frater  Found: Palawan Island (Philippines)
The Gray-throated Bulbul was once considered a sub-species of the Gray-Cheeked Bulbul.
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) Yann_Muzika - Palawan


Bulbul,_Halmahera_Golden-  Alophoixus chloris  Found: North Moluccas
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be Alophoixus affinis chloris.
Image by: 1) Yann_Muzika- Weda, Halmahera, Indonesia  2) Stijn_De_Win


Bulbul,_Obi_Golden-  Alophoixus lucasi  Found: Obi Island, North Moluccas, Indonesia
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be Alophoixus affinis lucasi.
Image by: 1) John_Mittermeier


Bulbul,_Ochraceous Alophoixus ochraceus  Found: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Seshadri_KS - Malaysia  3) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand


Bulbul,_Puff-throated  Alophoixus pallidus  Found: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam.
The Puff-throated Bulbul has olive upperparts; yellow underparts; puffy white throat; brown bill, eyes; black feet.
Similar to: White-throated Bulbul. Puff-throated Bulbul has duller underparts than White-throated Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Lip Kee Yap- Khao Yai, Thailand  3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand  4) LonelyShrimp - Thailand


Bulbul,_Sangihe_Golden-  Alophoixus platenae  Found: Sangihe Island (off Sulawesi, Indonesia
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be Alophoixus affinis platenae.
Image by: 1) Hanom_Bashari


Bulbul,_Seram_Golden-  Alophoixus affinis  Found: Indonesia
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be Alophoixus affinisaffinis.
Image by: 1) Dubi_Shapiro - Seram, Maluku, Indonesia  2) Michael_Poulsen


Bulbul,_Sula_Golden-  also Northern Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus longirostris  Found: Indonesia
Also consider a subspecies of Golden Bulbul, in which case it would be Alophoixus affini longirostris.
Image by: 1) Frank_Rheindt - Sula Islands, Indonesia


Bulbul,_White-throated  Alophoixus flaveolus  Found: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand
The White-throated Bulbul has olive upperparts; yellow underparts; puffy white throa.
Similar to: Puff-throated Bulbul. Puff-throated Bulbul has duller underparts than White-throated Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Haller1962   2, 3) Zamiruddin Faisal


Bulbul,_Yellow-bellied  Alophoixus phaeocephalus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1) Haller1962 2, 3) Lip Kee Yap- the Panti Forest, Johor, Malaysia  4) Werner_Witte - Botswana



Genus Cerasophila - 1 species

Bulbul,_White-headed Cerasophila thompsoni also Hypsipetes thompsoni  Found: Myanmar, Thailand.
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) Dave_Curtis - Thailand



Genus Hemixos

Bulbul,_Ashy  Hemixos flavala  Found: Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia
Image by: 1) Rushenb - Thailand  2) Lip Kee Yap - Changi Village, Singapore


Bulbul,_Chestnut  Hemixos castanonotus  Found: China, Hong Kong, Vietnam.
Image by: 1) 57Andrew  2) Charles Lam 



Genus Hypsipetes
Also African Species

Bulbul,_Black   Hypsipetes leucocephalus  Found: India east to southern China
The Black Bulbul plumage ranges from slate gray to shiny black depending on the race; orange bill, legs;
Image by: 1) Nigel van Houten - Prague Zoo  2) Dick Daniels - Zoo Miami  3) J M Garg - India  4) Hank  5) Sergey_Yeliseev 
1) Hypsipetes leucocephalus leucocephalus  2) Hypsipetes leucocephalus nigerrimus 3) Hypsipetes leucocephalus psaroides
1) White headed morph



Bulbul,_Brown-eared  Hypsipetes amaurotis  Found: eastern Asia
The Brown-eared Bulbul has grayish-brown plumage; brown cheeks (ears).
Image by: 1) Lip_kee - Japan  2, 3) Alpsdake  4) Laitche   5) Lin_Sun_Fong - Japan



Bulbul,_Mindoro  Hypsipetes mindorensis  Found: Mindoro in the Philippines
Image by: 1) tebanwuds


Bulbul,_Philippine  Hypsipetes philippinus  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Heinrich_von_Kittlitz  2) Ramon_Quisumbing


Bulbul,_Square-tailed  Hypsipetes ganeesa  Found: southwest India, Sri Lanka
The Square-tailed Bulbul was previously considered a subspecies of the Black Bulbul plumage. It has no black streak behind the eye.
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) David_Cook  3) Steve Garvie - Sri Lanka  4) Gaurika_Wijeratne


Bulbul,_Streak-breasted  Hypsipetes siquijorensis  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Thibault  2) Paul_French


Bulbul,_Visayan also   Philippine Bulbul  Hypsipetes guimarasensis  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) onnie_espera  2) Pete_Morris  3) Charles_Davies


Bulbul,_Yellowish  Hypsipetes everetti  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi  2) Ramon J Quisumbing


Bulbul,_Zamboanga  Hypsipetes rufigularis  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) Rob Hutchinson - Mindano



Genus Iole

Bulbul,_Buff-vented  Iole crypta Found: runei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2, 3, 4) Lip Kee Yap - Malaysia


Bulbul,_Cachar   Iole cacharensis   Found: southeast Bangladesh,  northeast India
The Cachar Bulbul was formerly a subspecies of the Olive Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Jainy_Kuriakose - India


Bulbul,_Charlotte's   Iole charlottae   Found: Borneo
Image by: 1) Michelle and Peter Wong


Bulbul,_Gray-eyed  Iole propinqua  Found: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Image by JJ Harrison - Thailand  2) Rushenb - Thailand  3) Dave_Curtis - Thailand


Bulbul,_Olive  Iole virescens  Found: southern Myanmar to south-western Thailand and the Malay Peninsula
Image by: 1) Vijay_Ismavel


Bulbul,_Sulphur-bellied  Iole palawanensis also Ixos palawanensis  endemic to Philippines
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Rackk67 - Palawan  3) Markaharper1 - Palawan 
1) Left: Dinsch's Bulbul   Right: Sulpher-Bellied Bulbul


Bulbul,_Yellow-browed Iole indica Found: Sri Lanka, India
The Yellow-browed Bulbul  has olive upperparts; mainly yellow underparts; yellow supercilium.
Image by: 1)  Koshy_Koshy - southern India  2) Gihan_Jayaweera  3) Vaishak_Kallore - India



Genus Ixos

Bulbul,_Mountain  Ixos mcclellandii   Found: China, Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, Malaysia 
Image by: 1) JJ Harrison - Thailand  2) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand  3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand  4) Hiyashi_Haka


Bulbul,_Nicobar  Ixos nicobariensis  Found: Nicobar Islands of India
Image by: 1) Jainy_Kuriakose


Bulbul,_Streaked  Ixos malaccensis  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1, 2) Lip_kee - Singapore


Bulbul,_Sunda  Ixos virescens  Found: Java and Sumatra (Indonesia)
Image by: 1) Nicolas_LeJeune  2) Asman_Adi_Purwanto - Java



Genus Pycnonotus
Also African Species

Bulbul,_Andaman Pycnonotus fuscoflavescens  Found: Andaman Islands of India
The Andaman Bulbul has mainly olive-yellow plumage; olive head; yellow-tipped tail.
Image by: 1) Antony_Grossy


Bulbul,_Ashy-fronted  Pycnonotus cinereifrons  Found: Palawan Island (Philippines)
The Ashy-fronted Bulbul is also considered a subspecies of the Olive-winged Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Ramon_Quisumbing


Bulbul,_Ayeyarwady  Pycnonotus blanfordi   Found: Myanmar
The Ayeyarwady Bulbul was previously a subspecies of the Streak-eared Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Thet_Zaw_Naing


Bulbul,_Bare-faced  Pycnonotus hualon  Found: Laos
The Bare-faced Bulbul has olive upperparts; bare pink face; bluish skin around eyes; off-white throat; pale fawn-gray underparts.
Similar to: Bare-faced Bulbul. Ranges of Bare-faced Bulbul and Hairy-backed Bulbul do not overlap.
Image by: 1) GossipGuy  2) Dave_Gandy


Bulbul,_Black-and-white  Pycnonotus melanoleucos  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
The male Black-and-white Bulbul has mainly brownish-black plumage; white wing patch. Female has less bright white.
Image by: 1) David Bakewell - Malaysia  2) John_Wright - Malaysia
1) Female 2) Male


Bulbul,_Black-capped  Pycnonotus melanicterus  Found: Sri Lanka
The Black-capped Bulbul has green upperparts; greenish-yellow underparts; black cap.
Similar to: Black-crested Bulbul. The Black-crested Bulbul has a crest; Black-capped Bulbul does not. Their ranges do not overlap. Used to be considered the same species.
Similar to: Flame-throated Bulbul. The Flame-throated Bulbul has more black on head than Black-capped Bulbul. Their ranges do not overlap. Used to be considered the same species.
Image by: 1) Wayne_Hodgkinson  2) Thimindu_Goonatillake 


Bulbul,_Black-crested Pycnonotus flaviventris Found: Indis, southeas Asia, Malaysia
The Black-crested Bulbul has green upperparts; greenish-yellow underparts; black head with black crest.
Similar to: Black-capped Bulbul. The Black-crested Bulbul has a crest; Black-capped Bulbul does not Their ranges do not overlap. Used to be considered the same species.
Similar to: Flame-throated Bulbul. The Black-crested Bulbul has a crest; Flame-throated Bulbu does not. Used to be considered the same species.
Image by: 1) Darren Bellerby - Edward Youde Aviary, Hong Kong  2 ) Hiyashi_Haka  3) Dave_Curtis - Thailand  4) Lin_Sun_Fong - Thailand


Bulbul,_Black-headed  Pycnonotus atriceps  Found: southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
The Black-headed Bulbul has mainly olive-yellow plumage; glossy bluish-black head; blue eyes.
Image by: 1) Doug_Janson  2) JAMES_MAUGHN - Thailand


Bulbul,_Blue-wattled  Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii  Found: Borneo, Sumatra
Image by: 1) hbw.com


Bulbul,_Bornean  Pycnonotus montis  Found: Borneo
Image by: 1. 2) Jonathan_Soon


Bulbul,_Brown-breasted  Pycnonotus xanthorrhous  Found: China, Hong Kong, Laos, Myanmar,, Thailand, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Johnny Wee  2) Marcel_Holyoak - China  3) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand


Bulbul,_Cream-striped  Pycnonotus leucogrammicus  Found: Indonesia
Image by: 1) Agus_Nurza - Sumatra  2) Dave_Gandy - West Sumatra  3) Pete Morris - Sumatra


Bulbul,_Cream-vented  Pycnonotus simplex  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1, 2) Lip Kee Yap - Panti Forest, Johor, Malaysia   3) David_Tan


Bulbul,_Flame-throated Pycnonotus gularis  Found: hills of southwest India
The Flame-throated Bulbul has green upperparts; greenish-yellow underparts; black head.
Similar to: Black-capped Bulbul. The Flame-throated Bulbul has more black on head than Black-capped Bulbul. Their ranges do not overlap. Used to be considered the same species.
Similar to: Black-crested Bulbul. The Black-crested Bulbul has a crest; Flame-throated Bulbu does not. Used to be considered the same species.
Image by: 1) Karunalsor Rayker - Karnatalso, India.  2) Lip_kee - Kerala, India  3) Prajwalkm 


Bulbul,_Flavescent  Pycnonotus flavescens   Found: Pete_Morris
Image by: 1) Rushenb - Thailand  2) JJ_Harrison  3) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand  4) LonelyShrimp - thailand


Bulbul,_Gray-bellied  Pycnonotus cyaniventris  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1) Lip_kee - Malaysia  2) Mike Prince - Borneo


Bulbul,_Gray-headed  Pycnonotus priocephalus  Found: India
The Gray-headed Bulbul has mainly olive-green plumage; gray crown, nape, throat; yellow-green forehead; greenish and graybill; pinkidh-yellow legs.
Image by: 1) 1) shrikant_rao  2) Srihari_Kulkarni


Bulbul,_Himalayan  Pycnonotus leucogenys  Found: Afghanistan, India, Nepal. Pakistan 
The Himalayan Bulbul has brown upperparts; black head with white ear-coverts; pale yellow underparts.
Image by: Lip Kee Yap - the Pokhara Valley, Nepal   2) Dick Daniels - Nepal  3) Nabarunsadhya  4) Mike_Prince - India


Bulbul,_Light-vented also Chinese Bulbul   Pycnonotus sinensis Found: east Asia
The Light-vented Bulbul can be identified via large white patch on nape; white throat; rest of head black.
Image by: 1) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan  2) Darren Bellerby - Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong  3,  4)   Charles Lam 


Bulbul,_Olive-winged  Pycnonotus plumosus  Found: southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
The Ashy-fronted Bulbul is also considered a subspecies of the Olive-winged Bulbul.
Image by: 1, 2) Lip Kee Yap - Singapore, Malaysia  2) Johnny Wee


Bulbul,_Orange-spotted  Pycnonotus bimaculatus  Found: Asia
Image by: 1) Charles Lam  2) Lip_kee - Indonesia  3) Darren - Hong Kong  4) Francesco_Veronesi


Bulbul,_Puff-backed  Pycnonotus eutilotus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Thailand
Image by: 1) Wong_Tsu_Shi - Borneo  2) Con_Foley - Malaysia  3) Ayuwat_Jearwattanakanok - Malaysia


Bulbul,_(Asian) Red-eyed  Pycnonotus brunneus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand
Image by:  1) Craig Adam - South Africa  2) Lip Kee Yap - Singapore  3) Charles_J_Sharp - Borneo


Bulbul,_Red-vented Pycnonotus cafer   Found: Asia, introduced/traveled to Pacific Islands
The Red-vented Bulbul has mainly dark brown plumage; head darker or black; white rump; red vent; black tail tipped white.
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels on Oahu, Hawaii  3, 4, 5) Dick - Nepal   6) JM_Garg



Bulbul,_Red-whiskered Pycnonotus jocosus Found: North America (introduced), Asia, Australia (introduced)
Image by: 1) Davis Kwan   2) myjkccd - Nanning Guangxi China  3)  Arun Prabhu - India    4, 5) Dick Daniels - Oahu, Hawaii  6) Shiva Shankar - Karkala, Karnatalso  



Bulbul,_Ruby-throated  Pycnonotus dispar  Found: Bali, Java, Sumatra (Indonesia)
The Ruby-throated Bulbul has red throat, eyes.
Image by: 1) bogniets - Miami Zoo  2, 3) Shrikant_rao


Bulbul,_Scaly-breasted  Pycnonotus squamatus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,, Thailand
Image by: 1) Nicolas_LeJeune  2) Amar-Singh  3) cuatrok77


Bulbul, Sooty-head  Pycnonotus aurigaster  Found: China, southeast Asia
Image by: 1) Ariefrahman  2) Doug Janson  3) Charles Lam   Hiyashi_Haka  4) Darren Bellerby - Hong Kong 


Bulbul,_Spectacled   Pycnonotus erythropthalmos  Found; Borneo, Malay peninsula, Sumatra
Image by: 1) Lip Kee


Bulbul,_Spot-necked  Pycnonotus tympanistrigus  Found: Sumatra (Indonesia)
Image by: 1) Dave_Gandy  2) Khaleb_Yordan


Bulbul,_Straw-headed  Pycnonotus zeylanicus  Found: Asia
Image by: 1) Johnny Wee  2) Bernard_Dupont - Java, Indonesia  3) Darren_Bellerby


Bulbul,_Streak-eared  Pycnonotus conradi  Found: Asia
The Ayeyarwady Bulbul was previously a subspecies of the Streak-eared Bulbul.
Image by: 1) Charlie Westerinen - Bangkok, Thailand  2) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand  3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand


Bulbul,_Striated  Pycnonotus striatus  Found: China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Jason_Thompson - Thailand  3) Dibyendu_Ash  4) Francesco_Veronesi


Bulbul,_Stripe-throated  Pycnonotus finlaysoni  Found: Asia
The Stripe-throated Bulbul has 3 subspecies:
(P. f. davisoni) - western and south-central Myanmar. Also known as Davidson' Bulbul
P. f. eous - Riley -southern China, Thailand and southern Indochina
P. f. finlaysoni - Malay Peninsula
Image by: 1) Lip Kee Yap- Thailand  2, 4) JJ_Harrison - Thailand  3) Rushenb 


Bulbul,_Styan's  also Taiwan Bulbul  Pycnonotus taivanus  Found: southern Taiwan
The Styan's Bulbul has black crown; white around eyes; black moustachial stripe.
Image by: 1, 2) Lin_Sun_Fong  3) Francesco Veronesi  4) Hiyashi_Haka 


Bulbul,_White-browed  Pycnonotus luteolus Found: India
The White-browed Bulbul has olive-gray upperparts; whitish underparts; white supercilium; white crescent below eye.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) J M Garg - Shamirpet, Rangareddy district, Andhra Pradesh, India.  4) Shrikant_Rao - India


Bulbul,_White-eared   Pycnonotus leucotis   Found: Saudia Arabia east to India  
The White-eared Bulbul hasblack head with large white ear patch; pale bare eye-ring; orange vent.
Image by: 1) Ash Lin - Rajasthan, India   2) J M Garg in Kolkata, West Bengal, India   3) Darren Bellerby - Thane Creek, Mumbai, India  4) Dick Daniels - Zoo Miami  5) Dick - Sylvan Heights



Bulbul,_White-spectacled  Pycnonotus xanthopygos  Found: southwestern Asia
Image by: 1) Alastair Rae  2) Nir Ofir - Jerusalem, Israel  3, 4) Characters - Israel


Bulbul,_Yellow-eared  Pycnonotus penicillatus  Endemic to Sri Lanka
Image by: 1) Byflickr  2) Lip_kee  3) Thimindu_Goonatillake


Bulbul,_Yellow-throated Pycnonotus xantholaemus Found: India
The Yellow-throated Bulbul has olive-gray upperparts; yellowish-olive head; yellow throat; pale gray underparts.
Image by: 1) Clement Francis  2) Shrikant_Rao - India


Bulbul,_Yellow-vented  Pycnonotus goiavier  Found: southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
Image by: 1) JoelDC  2) Richard W M Jones  3) Johnny Wee  4) Lip_kee


Bulbul,_Yellow-wattled  Pycnonotus urostictus  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi  2) Neon_Tomas_Buenaflor_Rosell



Genus Spizixos

Finchbill, Collared  Spizixos semitorques    Found: China, Taiwan, Vietnam
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo   2) Ray_Cui  3) Dick - National Aviary  4) Sandy Cole - National Aviary


Finchbill,_Crested  Spizixos canifrons  Found: China, India, southeast Asia
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand  2, 3) Dave_Curtis - Thailand



Genus Tricholestes - species

Bulbul,_Hairy-backed  Tricholestes criniger  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
Similar to: Bare-faced Bulbul. Ranges of Bare-faced Bulbul and Hairy-backed Bulbul do not overlap.
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Mike_Prince - Borneo  3) Marcel_Holyoak - Borneo



Genus Setornis - 1 species

Bulbul,_Hook-billed  Setornis criniger  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  3) James_Eaton - Borneo






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