The pale-faced bulbul (''Pycnonotus leucops'') is a

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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Description

At 17.5–19 cm long the pale-faced bulbul is smaller than the

flavescent bulbul The flavescent bulbul (''Pycnonotus flavescens'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. Its name comes from flavescent, a yellowish colour. It is found in south-eastern Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Alternate names ...

, with which it was once lumped, which reach 21.5–22 cm in length. Its colouring is mainly brown or grey-brown, darker above than below, with a white or whitish face and throat, and bright yellow undertail-coverts.

Distribution and habitat

The bulbul is found in the mountains of Borneo in montane

primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, ranging in altitude from about 900 m to 3500 m above sea level.

References

pale-faced bulbul Endemic birds of Borneo pale-faced bulbul {{Pycnonotidae-stub