Straw-headed Bulbul
Pycnonotus zeylanicus
A striking large brown bulbul with thick white streaks on the breast, a faded orange head, and two prominent black stripes on the face (a thin eye line and a thicker moustache). Inhabits lowland and foothill waterside forests, where it can often be detected by its wonderfully rich, bubbling song. A highly sought-after cagebird, and thus declining heavily in the wild.
Identification
The straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, plantations, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching from humans. The straw-headed bulbul is prized for its singing ability and is a highly sought-after species by bird enthusiasts in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. This trade is causing population reductions across the species' range and is a major barrier to its conservation. Trapping has been facilitated in recent years by the spread of logging roads across its forest habitat. Due to this, the straw-headed bulbul was uplisted from endangered to critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018.
Taxonomy
The straw-headed bulbul was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the starlings in the genus Sturnus and coined the binomial name Sturnus zeylanicus. Gmelin based his description on the "Ceylonese stare" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. The English name chosen by Latham and Gmelin's specific epithet were both based on the mistakenly belief that the species was found in Sri Lanka. In 1924 Herbert C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss designated the type locality as Java. The straw-headed bulbul is now one of 32 species placed in the genus Pycnonotus that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>Alternate names for the straw-headed bulbul include the straw-crowned bulbul and the yellow-crowned bulbul.
- Scientific name
- Pycnonotus zeylanicus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pycnonotidae
- Genus
- Pycnonotus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Merops variegatus
Beautiful bee-eater with a green back, yellow throat, and buffy underparts. The color of the breast band varies geographically. In some parts of the range it is black, but more commonly it is deep iridescent blue, though even this color looks black in most light. In flight, reveals a striking pattern of rufous patches and black bars on the wings and tail. Found in moist, open habitats including savanna, cultivation, and forest edge. Calls are short, wooden rattles. Very similar to Little Bee-eater, but separated with care by slightly larger size and by the pale patch along the top and back of the yellow throat.
Three-toed Parrotbill
Paradoxornis paradoxus
Relatively plain and unmarked brown parrotbill of high-elevation bamboo thickets. Very similar in appearance to co-occurring Brown Parrotbill, but note Three-toed’s more prominent white eyering, brighter orange bill, and (if seen well) namesake three toes. Three-toed also generally appears darker-eyed and less “bristly” on the face (less prominent pale check streaking). Rustles through dense bamboo stands, often in small flocks. Often heard giving a series of husky, descending whistles: “Peer, Peer, Peer!”
Plumbeous Kite
Ictinia plumbea
Slender, long-winged summer migrant to tropical lowlands. Found in humid forest and adjacent semiopen areas with tall trees. Hunts in flight, soaring lazily on long, rather pointed wings and snatches insects with its talons. Dark gray overall (plumbeous means lead-colored) with a slightly paler head. On perched birds, the tips of the wings project well beyond the short tail. In flight, note the orange patches on the underside of the wingtips. Immature has whitish underparts with dark streaking.
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