| Straw-headed bulbul | |
|---|---|
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| In Singapore | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pycnonotidae |
| Genus: | Pycnonotus |
| Species: | P. zeylanicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pycnonotus zeylanicus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Thestraw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) is a species ofsongbird in thebulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found from theMalay Peninsula toBorneo. Its naturalhabitats aresubtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropicalmangrove forest,subtropical or tropical moist shrubland,arable land,plantations, and rural gardens. It is threatened byhabitat loss andpoaching.
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.[3] 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 fromendangered tocritically endangered on theIUCN Red List in 2018.[4]
The straw-headed bulbul wasformally described in 1789 by the German naturalistJohann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition ofCarl Linnaeus'sSystema Naturae. He placed it with the starlings in thegenusSturnus and coined thebinomial nameSturnus zeylanicus.[5] Gmelin based his description on the "Ceylonese stare" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologistJohn Latham in his bookA General Synopsis of Birds.[6] 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.[7][8] In 1924Herbert C. Robinson andC. Boden Kloss designated thetype locality asJava.[8][9] The straw-headed bulbul is now one of 32 species placed in the genusPycnonotus that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologistFriedrich Boie. The species ismonotypic: nosubspecies are recognised.[10]
Alternate names for the straw-headed bulbul include the straw-crowned bulbul and the yellow-crowned bulbul.[11]
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