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| Hemixos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chestnut bulbul (H. castanonotus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pycnonotidae |
| Genus: | Hemixos Blyth, 1845 |
| Type species | |
| Hemixos flavala[1] Blyth, 1845 | |
| Species | |
see text | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Hemixos is asongbird genus in thebulbul family, Pycnonotidae.[2]
Established byEdward Blyth in 1845 for the newly discoveredashy bulbul (H. flavala),[3] thisgenus contains four extantspecies.[2]
Some treatments merge the genus intoHypsipetes, often together with the rest of the traditional "Hypsipetes group" ofbulbuls:Iole,Ixos,Microscelis andTricholestes. But in this case, the closely related generaAlophoixus andSetornis would probably also have to be included, and as soon as the earliest described genus,Ixos, is merged with another its name would apply.[4]
In fact,Hemixos is not particularly close toHypsipetes, and a merger is not well justified.mtDNANADH dehydrogenasesubunits 2 and 3 andnDNAβ-fibrinogenintron 7sequence data puts it closer to (but still well distant from) thestreaked bulbul (Ixos malaccensis). But whether that species represents the core group ofIxos – around itstype speciesI. virescens (Sunda bulbul or green-winged bulbul) –, or a distinct lineage worthy of separation in a new genus – in which caseHypsipetes might be merged into the core group ofIxos – has not been studied. In any case, though minor, theHemixos lineage with its stark white throat and light wing patches seems well distinct.[5]
Three species are currently recognised:[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ashy bulbul | Hemixos flavala | Himalayas,Patkai, Yunnan and Indochina |
| - | Cinereous bulbul | Hemixos cinereus | western Malesia |
 | Chestnut bulbul | Hemixos castanonotus | southern China andHainan |
Previously, some authorities also classified the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genusHemixos:
Media related toHemixos at Wikimedia Commons
