Bulbul

{{Short description|Family of birds}} {{other uses}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Brown-eared Bulbul 1.jpg | image_caption = [[Brown-eared bulbul]] (''Hypsipetes amaurotis'') | taxon = Pycnonotidae | authority = [[George Robert Gray|Gray, GR]], 1840 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text | synonyms = * Brachypodidae [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1831 * Trichophoridae Swainson, 1831 * Ixosidae [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1838 * Hypsipetidae Bonaparte, 1854 * Crinigeridae Bonaparte, 1854 (1831) * Phyllastrephidae [[Alphonse Milne-Edwards|Milne-Edwards]] & [[Alfred Grandidier|Grandidier]], 1879 * Tyladidae [[Harry C. Oberholser|Oberholser]], 1917 * Spizixidae Oberholser, 1919 }} The '''bulbuls''' are members of a [[Family (taxonomy)|family]], '''Pycnonotidae''', of medium-sized [[perching bird|passerine]] [[songbird]]s, which also includes [[greenbul]]s, [[brownbul]]s, [[leaflove]]s, and [[bristlebill]]s. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. There are 161 species in 28 [[genus|genera]]. While different species are found in a wide range of habitats, the African species are predominantly found in [[rainforest]], whereas Asian bulbuls are predominantly found in more open areas.

==Taxonomy== The family Pycnonotidae was introduced by the English zoologist [[George Robert Gray]] in 1840 as a subfamily Pycnonotinae of the thrush family [[Turdidae]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gray | first=George Robert | author-link=George Robert Gray | year=1840 | title=A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus | location=London | publisher=R. and J.E. Taylor | page=28 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13668922 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | location=New York | pages=201, 237 | hdl=2246/830 | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}</ref>

The Persian word ''bulbul'' (بلبل) is sometimes used to refer to the "[[nightingale]]" as well as the bulbul, but the English word ''bulbul'' refers to the birds discussed in this article.{{sfn|Fishpool|Tobias|2005|pp=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0010unse/page/161/mode/1up 161–162]}}

A few species that were previously considered to be members of the Pycnonotidae have been moved to other families. Several Malagasy species that were formerly placed in the genus ''[[Phyllastrephus]]'' are now placed in the family [[Bernieridae]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Cibois | first1=Alice | last2=Slikas | first2=Beth | last3=Shulenberg | first3=Thomas S. | last4=Pasquet | first4=Eric | year=2001 | title=An endemic radiation of Malagasy songbirds is revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequence data | journal=Evolution | volume=55 | issue=6 | pages=1198–1206 | doi=10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[1198:AEROMS]2.0.CO;2 | pmid=11475055 | doi-access= }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cibois | first1 = Alice | last2 = David | first2 = Normand | last3 = Gregory | first3 = Steven M. S. | last4 = Pasquet | first4 = Eric | year = 2010 | title = Bernieridae (Aves: Passeriformes): a family-group name for the Malagasy sylvioid radiation | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 2554 | pages = 65–68 | doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.2554.1.6 }}</ref> In addition, the genus ''[[Nicator]]'' containing three African species is now placed in a separate family [[Nicatoridae]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beresford |first1=P. |last2=Barker |first2=F.K. |last3=Ryan |first3=P.G. |last4=Crowe |first4=T.M. |year=2005 |title=African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas' |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=272 |issue=1565 |pages=849–858 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2004.2997 |pmid=15888418 |pmc=1599865 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Johansson | first1=U.S. | last2=Fjeldså | first2=J. | last3=Bowie | first3=R.C.K. | date=2008 | title=Phylogenetic relationships within Passerida (Aves: Passeriformes): A review and a new molecular phylogeny based on three nuclear intron markers | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=48 | issue=3 | pages=858–876 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.029| pmid=18619860 }}</ref>

A study published in 2007 by Ulf Johansson and colleagues using three nuclear markers found that the genus ''[[Andropadus]]'' was [[monophyletic|non-monophyletic]]. In the subsequent revision, species were moved to three resurrected genera: ''[[Arizelocichla]]'', ''[[Stelgidillas]]'' and ''[[Eurillas]]''. Only the [[sombre greenbul]] (''Andropadus importunus''), was retained in ''Andropadus''.<ref name=avilist/><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Johansson | first1=U.S. | last2=Fjeldså | first2=J. | last3=Lokugalappatti | first3=L.G.S. | last4=Bowie | first4=R.C.K. | date=2007 | title=A nuclear DNA phylogeny and proposed taxonomic revision of African greenbuls (Aves, Passeriformes, Pycnonotidae) | journal=Zoologica Scripta | volume=36 | issue=5 | pages=417–427 | doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2007.00290.x| s2cid=84799480 }}</ref> A study by Subir Shakya and Frederick Shelden published in 2017 found that species in the large genus ''[[ Pycnonotus]]'' formed several deeply divergent clades. The genus was split and genera were resurrected to accommodate these clades.<ref name=avilist/><ref name=shakya>{{Cite journal | last1=Shakya | first1=Subir B. | last2=Sheldon | first2=Frederick H. | date=2017 | title=The phylogeny of the world's bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) inferred using a supermatrix approach | journal=Ibis | volume=159 | issue=3 | pages=498–509 | doi=10.1111/ibi.12464| doi-access=free }}</ref>

The family forms two main clades. One clade contains species that are only found in Africa; many of these have greenbul in the common name. The second clade contains mostly Asian species but includes a few species that are found in Africa.<ref name=shakya/>

{{Cladogram |caption=Phylogeny based on a study of the babblers by Cai and colleagues published in 2019.<ref name=avilist/><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Cai | first1=T. | last2=Cibois | first2=A. | last3=Alström | first3=P. | last4=Moyle | first4=R.G. | last5=Kennedy | first5=J.D. | last6=Shao | first6=S. | last7=Zhang | first7=R. | last8=Irestedt | first8=M. | last9=Ericson | first9=P.G.P. | last10=Gelang | first10=M. | last11=Qu | first11=Y. | last12=Lei | first12=F. | last13=Fjeldså | first13=J. | date=2019 | title=Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=130 | pages=346–356 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010 | pmid=30321696 | doi-access=free }}</ref> |align=centre |cladogram={{Clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;width:500px; |1={{clade |1={{clade |1='''Pycnonotidae''' – bulbuls (161 species) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=[[Paradoxornithidae]] – parrotbills and myzornis (38 species) |2=[[Sylviidae]] – sylviid warblers (32 species) }} |2={{clade |1=[[Zosteropidae]] – white-eyes (147 species) |2={{clade |1=[[Timaliidae]] – tree babblers (58 species) |2={{clade |1=[[Pellorneidae]] – ground babblers (65 species) |2=[[Leiothrichidae]] – laughingthrushes and allies (143 species) }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

Currently, there are 161 recognized species in 28 genera:<ref name=avilist>{{ cite web | author=AviList Core Team | date=2025 | title=AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025 | doi=10.2173/avilist.v2025 | doi-access=free | url=http://www.avilist.org/checklist/v2025/ | access-date=17 November 2025 }}</ref>

* Genus ''[[Andropadus]]'' – [[sombre greenbul]] (formerly contained many species) * Genus ''[[Stelgidillas]]'' – [[slender-billed greenbul]] (formerly in ''Andropadus'') * Genus ''[[Calyptocichla]]'' – [[golden greenbul]] * Genus ''[[Neolestes]]'' – [[black-collared bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Bleda (bird)|Bleda]]'' – bristlebills (5 species) * Genus ''[[Atimastillas]]'' – greenbuls (2 species) * Genus ''[[Ixonotus]]'' – [[spotted greenbul]] * Genus ''[[Thescelocichla]]'' – [[swamp palm bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Chlorocichla]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) * Genus ''[[Baeopogon]]'' – greenbuls (2 species) * Genus ''[[Arizelocichla]]'' – greenbuls (11 species) (formerly in ''Andropadus'') * Genus ''[[Criniger]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) * Genus ''[[Eurillas]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) (formerly in ''Andropadus'') * Genus ''[[Phyllastrephus]]'' – greenbuls and brownbuls (20 species) * Genus ''[[Tricholestes]]'' – [[hairy-backed bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Setornis]]'' – [[hook-billed bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Alophoixus]]'' – 8 species (formerly in ''Criniger'') * Genus ''[[Alcurus]]'' – [[striated bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Iole (genus)|Iole]]'' – 7 species * Genus ''[[Hemixos]]'' – 3 species * Genus ''[[Acritillas]]'' – [[yellow-browed bulbul]] * Genus ''[[Ixos]]'' – 5 species * Genus ''[[Hypsipetes]]'' – 26 species (includes 3 species formerly in ''Thapsinillas'', one formerly in ''[[Cerasophila]]'' and one formerly in ''Microscelis'') * Genus ''[[Microtarsus]]'' – 7 species * Genus ''[[Rubigula]]'' – 8 species (formerly in ''Pycnonotus'') * Genus ''[[Bare-faced bulbul|Nok]]'' – [[bare-faced bulbul]] (genus introduced in 2017) * Genus ''[[Spizixos]]'' – finchbills (2 species) * Genus ''[[Pycnonotus]]'' – 31 species (substantially reduced from earlier classification)

===Cladogram=== Phylogeny based on a study by Subir Shakya and Frederick Shelden published in 2017 with the revised genera as defined in the [[AviList]] checklist.<ref name=avilist/><ref name=shakya/> The positions of the [[bare-faced bulbul]] (''Nok hualon'') and the [[yellow-browed bulbul]] (''Acritillas indica'') are based on a study by Jérôme Fuchs and colleagues published in 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=J. | last2=Pasquet | first2=E. | last3=Stuart | first3=B.L. | last4=Woxvold | first4=I.A. | last5=Duckworth | first5=J.W. | last6=Bowie | first6=R.C.K. | date=2018 | title=Phylogenetic affinities of the enigmatic Bare-faced Bulbul ''Pycnonotus hualon'' with description of a new genus | journal=Ibis | volume=160 | issue=3 | pages=659–665 | doi=10.1111/ibi.12580}}</ref> As currently defined the genera ''Chlorocichla'' and ''Arizelocichla'' are not [[monophyletic]]. {{clade| style=font-size:90%;line-height:90% |1={{clade |label1='''Pycnonotidae''' |1={{clade |label1=Africa clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Andropadus]]'' – sombre greenbul |2={{clade |1=''[[Calyptocichla]]'' – golden greenbul |2=''[[Stelgidillas]]'' – slender-billed greenbul }} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Neolestes]]'' – black-collared bulbul |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Phyllastrephus]]'' – greenbuls, brownbuls, leaflove (20 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Criniger]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) |2=''[[Eurillas]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) }} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Bleda_(bird)|Bleda]] - [[Bristlebill]]'' – bristlebills (5 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Arizelocichla]]'' – greenbuls (12 species) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Atimastillas]]'' – yellow-throated leaflove |2={{clade |1=''[[Ixonotus]]'' – spotted greenbul |2=''[[Thescelocichla]]'' – swamp palm bulbul }} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Arizelocichla montana]]'' – Cameroon greenbul |2={{clade |1=''[[Chlorocichla]]'' – greenbuls (5 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Baeopogon]]'' – greenbuls (2 species) |2=''[[Chlorocichla simplex]]'' – simple greenbul }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} |label2=mainly Asian clade |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Microtarsus]]'' – (7 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Rubigula]]'' – (8 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Pycnonotus]]'' – (34 species) |2={{clade |1=''[[Bare-faced_bulbul|Nok]]'' – bare-faced bulbul |2=''[[Spizixos]]'' – finchbills (2 species) }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Tricholestes]]'' – hairy-backed bulbul |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Alophoixus]]'' – (8 species) |2=''[[Setornis]]'' – hook-billed bulbul }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Alcurus]]'' – striated bulbul |2={{clade |1=''[[Iole (genus)|Iole]]'' – (7 species) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Acritillas]]'' – yellow-browed bulbul |2=''[[Hemixos]]'' – (4 species) }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Hypsipetes]]'' – (25 species) |2=''[[Ixos]]'' – (5 species) }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

==Description== Bulbuls are short-necked slender passerines. The tails are long and the wings short and rounded. In almost all species the [[beak|bill]] is slightly elongated and slightly hooked at the end. They vary in length from 13 cm and {{convert|13.3|g|oz|abbr=on}} for the [[tiny greenbul (disambiguation)|tiny greenbul]] to 29 cm and {{convert|93|g|oz|abbr=on}} in the [[straw-headed bulbul]].<ref>{{cite book |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |edition=2nd |editor-first=John B. Jr. |editor-last=Dunning |publisher=CRC Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4200-6444-5}}</ref> Overall the sexes are alike, although the females tend to be slightly smaller. In a few species the differences are so great that they have been described as functionally different species. The soft [[plumage]] of some species is colorful 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 [[Bird vocalization|vocal]], with the calls of most species being described as nasal or gravelly. One author described the song of the [[brown-eared bulbul]] as "one of the most unattractive noises made by any bird".{{sfn|Fishpool|Tobias|2005|p=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0010unse/page/146/mode/1up 146]}}

==Behaviour and ecology== ===Breeding=== The bulbuls are generally [[monogamy in animals|monogamous]]. One unusual exception is the [[yellow-whiskered greenbul]] which at least over part of its range appears to be polygamous and engage in a [[Lek (biology)|lekking]] system. Some species also have [[alloparenting]] arrangements, where non-breeders, usually the young from earlier clutches, help raise the young of a dominant breeding pair.{{sfn|Fishpool|Tobias|2005|p=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0010unse/page/151/mode/1up 151]}} Up to five speckled eggs are laid in open tree nests and [[avian incubation|incubated]] by the female. Incubation usually lasts between 11 and 14 days, and chicks [[fledge]] after 12–16 days.{{sfn|Fishpool|Tobias|2005|pp=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0010unse/page/154/mode/1up 154–155]}}

===Feeding=== Bulbuls eat a wide range of foods, ranging from fruit to seeds, nectar, small insects and other arthropods and even small vertebrates. The majority of species are frugivorous and supplement their diet with some insects, although there is a significant minority of specialists, particularly in Africa. Open country species in particular are generalists. Bulbuls in the genus ''[[Criniger]]'' and bristlebills in the genus ''[[Bleda (bird)|Bleda]]'' will join [[mixed-species feeding flock]]s.

==Relationship to humans== The [[red-whiskered bulbul]]s and [[red-vented bulbul]]s have been captured for the pet trade in great numbers and have been widely introduced to tropical and subtropical areas, for example, southern [[Florida]], [[Fiji]], [[Australia]] and [[Hawaii]]. Some species{{which|date=June 2020}} are regarded as crop pests, particularly in orchards.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

In general, bulbuls and greenbuls are resistant to human pressures on the environment and are tolerant of disturbed habitat. Around 13 species are considered [[threatened]] by human activities, mostly specialised forest species that are threatened by [[habitat loss]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *{{ cite book | last1=Fishpool | first1=L.D.C. |last2=Tobias | first2=J.A. | year=2005 | chapter=Family Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Christie | editor3-first=D.A. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-87334-72-6 | pages=124–250 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0010unse/page/124/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Pycnonotidae}} *''[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/bulbuls-pycnonotidae Bulbul photos and videos] on the Internet Bird Collection'' *''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090605205229/http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/winkler/botw/pycnonotidae.html Family characters]''

[[Category:Pycnonotidae|*]] [[Category:Taxa named by George Robert Gray]]