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Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)

Himalayan Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) - HBW 10, p. 240

French: Bulbul noir German: China-Rotschnabelbülbül Spanish: Bulbul Negro
Other common names: Black Bulbul (when treated as conspecific with H. ganeesa)

Taxonomy: [Turdus] leucocephalus J. F. Gmelin, 1789, Guangzhou, Guangdong, south China.
Previously included within a broad H. madagascariensis. Usually treated as conspecific with H. ganeesa, but marked differences in morphology and vocalizations indicate that the two are better considered separate species. Races of present species exceptionally diverse; full review of geographical variation, including adequate sample of recorded songs (not calls), required in order to assess whether more than one species involved. Proposed race impar (from Langbian massif, in S Vietnam) treated as a synonym of concolor, but may, in view of its geographical isolation,.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: [Turdus] leucocephalus J. F. Gmelin, 1789, Guangzhou, Guangdong, south China.
Previously included within a broad H. madagascariensis. Usually treated as conspecific with H. ganeesa, but marked differences in morphology and vocalizations indicate that the two are better considered separate species. Races of present species exceptionally diverse; full review of geographical variation, including adequate sample of recorded songs (not calls), required in order to assess whether more than one species involved. Proposed race impar (from Langbian massif, in S Vietnam) treated as a synonym of concolor, but may, in view of its geographical isolation, deserve recognition; further study required. Ten subspecies provisionally recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • psaroides Vigors, 1831 - Himalayas from NE Afghanistan (Kunar Valley) and N Pakistan E to NE India (Arunachal Pradesh, also S Assam hills), S Tibet and NW Myanmar; old record(s) in C India.
  • nigrescens Stuart Baker, 1917 - NE India (E Assam and Manipur) and W Myanmar (including Chin Hills and Arakan).
  • sinensis (La Touche, 1922) - breeds S China (NW Yunnan); non-breeding Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

     See all 10 subspecies
  • psaroides Vigors, 1831 - Himalayas from NE Afghanistan (Kunar Valley) and N Pakistan E to NE India (Arunachal Pradesh, also S Assam hills), S Tibet and NW Myanmar; old record(s) in C India.
  • nigrescens Stuart Baker, 1917 - NE India (E Assam and Manipur) and W Myanmar (including Chin Hills and Arakan).
  • sinensis (La Touche, 1922) - breeds S China (NW Yunnan); non-breeding Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
  • stresemanni (Mayr, 1942) - breeds S China (N Yunnan); non-breeding Thailand and Laos.
  • ambiens (Mayr, 1942) - NE Myanmar and S China (Salween watershed, in W Yunnan).
  • concolor Blyth, 1849 - E Myanmar, S China (S Yunnan) and Indochina.
  • leucothorax (Mayr, 1942) - breeds C China (S Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei); non-breeding W, N & E Myanmar, N & NE Thailand, N Vietnam (Tonkin).
  • leucocephalus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - breeds SE China (S Anhui, Zhejiang and Hunan S to Guangxi and Guangdong); non-breeding E Myanmar and N Indochina.
  • nigerrimus Gould, 1863 - Taiwan.
  • perniger Swinhoe, 1870 - S China (Hainan); possibly also N Vietnam (E Tonkin).

Sounds

4 recordings
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