Bird watching in Africa - Common Bulbul

PLEASE! If you see any mistakes, I'm 100% sure that I have wrongly identified some birds.
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page

Common Bulbul, Somali Bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus, Pycnonotus somaliensis

Thanks to xeno-canto administrator Rolf A. de By for helping me with this bird and we changed it from Common Bulbul to Somali Bulbul

Related Forum Topics
The following forum topics may have additional information or discussions about this recording:

25977. Somaliensis? (XC433297)

Thanks to cuckooroller at Birdforum for helping me with the identity.

Forum thread HERE

I put down this bird as a Common Bulbul. I also uploaded a recording to www.xeno-canto.org as a Common Bulbul. A few months later the, in January 2019 I got a message from Rolf A. de By, XC Administrator wondering when I would change it to Pycnonotus somaliensis.

Link to forum thread on www.xeno-canto.org HERE

I brought it up on www.birdforum.net as well, link to forum thread HERE

Hi Aladdin,
this Opus page breaks down the taxonomy. Sibley and Monroe accepts 4 subspieces, but Clements recognises 10. It is a bit of a mess as different authorities recognise different things. If you take a peek at avibase you can see all the subspecies recognised by which authority. Some people follow more than one authority, but keep more than one list. It takes a look of time and dedication to do that though.

I started to investigate, and so far, most of the “search results” for Somali Bulbul is links to the Common Bulbul (2019) but I changed the name in xeno-canto and I have changed the Common Bulbul to Common Bulbul / Somali Bulbul here on www.aladdin.st

From Opus at Birdforum:
Common Bulbul
(Redirected from Somali Bulbul)
Alternative names: Garden Bulbul; Somali Bulbul; Dodson's Bulbul; Dark-capped Bulbul

Taxonomy
Sibley and Monroe propose to split this species into 4 species:
• Garden Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus from Northern Africa south to Congo-Brazzaville and Ethiopia, with the exception of the Sahara and other arid regions where generally absent.
• Dodson's Bulbul Pycnonotus dodsoni
• Dark-capped Bulbul Pycnonotus tricolor
• Somali Bulbul Pycnonotus somaliensis

However, neither Howard and Moore nor Clements accept this split, neither does the Handbook of the Birds of the World.

This split is mainly based on morphology, especially in colour of vent (whitish or yellow), presence/absence of a white patch on the auriculars, and exact chest pattern. They interbreed widely at most localities where they meet.

Subspecies Spurius, dodsoni, schoanus, somaliensis - Click HERE for bigger picture

Picture from www.birdforum.net - Photo by volker sthamer

The Somali bulbul (Pycnonotus somaliensis) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in north-eastern Africa.

Taxonomy and systematics
Some authorities treat the Somali bulbul as a subspecies of the common bulbul and formerly it has also been considered as a subspecies of the dark-capped bulbul. The alternate name, Abyssinian bulbul, is also used as the name for Pycnonotus barbatus schoanus.

Distribution and habitat
The Somali bulbul is found in Djibouti, north-western Somalia and north-eastern Ethiopia.

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Common Bulbul

The Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in north-eastern, northern, western and central Africa.

Distribution and habitat
It is a common resident breeder in much of Africa. It is found in woodland, coastal bush, forest edges, riverine bush, montane scrub, and in mixed farming habitats. It is also found in exotic thickets, gardens, and parks.

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Taxonomy and systematics
The common bulbul was originally described in the genus Turdus. Some authorities treat the Somali, Dodson's and dark-capped bulbul as subspecies of the common bulbul. The common bulbul is considered to belong to a superspecies along with the Himalayan bulbul, white-eared bulbul, white-spectacled bulbul, African red-eyed bulbul, and the Cape bulbul.

Alternate names for the common bulbul include the black-eyed bulbul, brown bulbul (also used for the Asian red-eyed bulbul), brown-capped geelgat, common garden bulbul, garden bulbul and white-vented bulbul as well as one name used for another species (yellow-vented bulbul).

Taxonomy from www.birdforum.net

Sibley and Monroe propose to split this species into 4 species:

• Garden Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus from Northern Africa south to Congo-Brazzaville and Ethiopia, with the exception of the Sahara and other arid regions where generally absent.

• Dodson's Bulbul Pycnonotus dodsoni

• Dark-capped Bulbul Pycnonotus tricolor

• Somali Bulbul Pycnonotus somaliensis

However, neither Howard and Moore nor Clements accept this split, neither does the Handbook of the Birds of the World. This split is mainly based on morphology, especially in colour of vent (whitish or yellow), presence/absence of a white patch on the auriculars, and exact chest pattern. They interbreed widely at most localities where they meet.

Subspecies
Five subspecies are recognized:

• P. b. barbatus – (Desfontaines, 1789): Alternate names for the nominate race include Barbary bulbul and North-west African garden bulbul. Found from Morocco to Tunisia

• Upper Guinea bulbul (P. b. inornatus) – (Fraser, 1843): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Ixos. Found from southern Mauritania and Senegal to western Chad and northern Cameroon

• Gabon bulbul (P. b. gabonensis) – Sharpe, 1871: Originally described as a separate species. Found from central Nigeria and central Cameroon to Gabon and southern Congo

• Egyptian bulbul (P. b. arsinoe) – (Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Turdus. Alternately named the Sahel garden bulbul. Found in eastern Chad, northern and central Sudan and eastern Egypt

• Abyssinian bulbul (P. b. schoanus) – Neumann, 1905: Not to be confused with an alternate name for the Somali bulbul. Found in south-eastern Sudan, western, central and eastern Ethiopia, Eritrea

Description
The bill is fairly short and thin, with a slightly downcurving upper mandible. The bill, legs, and feet are black and the eye is dark brown with a dark eye-ring, which is not readily visible. It is about 18 cm in length, with a long tail. It has a dark brown head and upperparts. Sexes are similar in plumage.

Behaviour and ecology
The common bulbul is usually seen in pairs or small groups. It is a conspicuous bird, which tends to sit at the top of a bush. As with other bulbuls they are active and noisy birds. The flight is bouncing and Woodpecker-like. The call is a loud doctor-quick doctor-quick be-quick be-quick.

Listen to the Common Bulbul

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. Applied High Pass Filter with Audacity. My foot steps are cut out from the recording.

Foret Du Day camping and I was happy to finally get the recording. I was recording the bird further down the mountain when suddenly thousands of Goats were passing by.

I had another recording but people are talking all the time around me. Now I managed to get everyone to sand still and to be quiet at the camping. The only thing disturbing is my footsteps when I try to walk close to the bird.

Common Bulbul

Breeding
This species nests throughout the year in the moist tropics, elsewhere it is a more seasonal breeder with a peak in breeding coinciding with the onset of the rainy season. The nest is fairly rigid, thick walled, and cup-shaped. It is situated inside the leafy foliage of a small tree or shrub.

Two or three eggs is a typical clutch. It, like other bulbuls, is parasitised by the Jacobin cuckoo.

Eggs of Pycnonotus barbatus inornatus MHNT

By Didier Descouens - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27516305

Feeding
This species eats fruit, nectar, seeds and insects.

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN.
2016: e.T22712650A94342018. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22712650A94342018.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net

Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 6 September 2018
Location: Goda Mountains, Djibouti

Common Bulbul - Goda Mountains, Djibouti - 6 September 2018

Common Bulbul - Goda Mountains, Djibouti - 6 September 2018

Common Bulbul - Goda Mountains, Djibouti - 6 September 2018

Common Bulbul - Goda Mountains, Djibouti - 6 September 2018

Common Bulbul - Assamo, Djibouti - 7 September 2018

Common Bulbul - Lake Basaka - North shore, Ethiopia - 21 October 2019

Common Bulbul - Lake Basaka - North shore, Ethiopia - 21 October 2019

Common Bulbul - Lake Basaka - North shore, Ethiopia - 21 October 2019

Common Bulbul - 27 October 2019 - Sabana Beach Resort at Lake Langano, Ethiopia

Lonely BulBul came to eat at our table together with 2 White-browed Sparrow-Weavers

Common Bulbul - 28 October 2019 - Sabana Beach Resort at Lake Langano, Ethiopia

PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook


Tweet





You are visitor no.

To www.aladdin.st since December 2005

Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011