The icterine greenbul (''Phyllastrephus icterinus'') is a species of
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
in the
bulbul
The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical As ...
family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in western and central Africa.
Taxonomy and systematics
The icterine greenbul was originally described in the genus ''
Trichophorus
''Criniger'' is a genus of songbirds in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. The species of ''Criniger'' are found in western and central Africa.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Criniger'' was introduced in 1820 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck, ...
'' (a synonym for ''Criniger''). The term ''
icterine
Icterine is a colour, described as yellowish, jaundice-yellow or marked with yellow. It is derived from Ancient Greek ''ikteros'' (jaundice), via the Latin ''ictericus''. It is used as an adjective in the names of birds with yellowish plumage t ...
'' refers to its yellowish colouration. Formerly, some authorities have considered
Sassi's greenbul
Sassi's olive greenbul (''Phyllastrephus lorenzi'') is a songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is found in north-eastern and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist l ...
to be a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the icterine greenbul. Alternate names for the icterine greenbul include the lesser icterine bulbul and lesser icterine greenbul.
Liberian greenbul
Until 2018, a rare colour morph of the icterine greenbul from the Cavalla forest in south-eastern Liberia was believed to be a separate species. The Liberian greenbul (''Phyllastrephus leucolepis'') was known from only a few sightings between 1981 and 1984, and a specimen collected in 1984.
This specimen is now considered to have been a plumage aberration. A 2017 DNA analysis revealed that the bird(s) were common icterine greenbuls, albeit with unusual plumage colouring, which may have been caused by a nutritional deficiency.
Alternative names for the Liberian greenbul included the spot-winged bulbul, spot-winged greenbul and white-winged greenbul.
Distribution and habitat
The icterine greenbul is found in Africa from Guinea to Ghana; southern Nigeria to western and southern Uganda, eastern and central Democratic Republic of the Congo and extreme north-western Angola.
Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s are subtropical or tropical dry
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and moist
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Image at ADW
Phyllastrephus
Greenbuls
Birds of Central Africa
Birds of West Africa
Birds described in 1850
Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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