Fischer's greenbul (''Phyllastrephus fischeri'') 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 5,00 ...

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, tropic ...

family,

Pycnonotidae The bulbuls are members of a family (biology), family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized perching bird, passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and in ...

. It is found in eastern Africa from southern Somalia to north-eastern Mozambique. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Fischer's greenbul was originally described in the genus ''

Criniger ''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, ...

''. Formerly, some authorities have considered it as a subspecies of Sharpe's greenbul and some have also considered Cabanis's greenbul and the

placid greenbul Cabanis's greenbul (''Phyllastrephus cabanisi''), also known as Cabanis's bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in east-central and south-central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...

to be subspecies of Fischer's greenbul. Both the common and the scientific name commemorate the 19th century German explorer of East Africa

Gustav Fischer Gustav Fischer may refer to: * Gustav Fischer (explorer) (1848–1886), German explorer of Africa * Gustav Fischer (equestrian) Gustav Fischer (8 November 1915 – 22 November 1990) was a Switzerland, Swiss Equestrian at the Summer Olympics, ...

. Alternate names for Fischer's greenbul include the East Coast olive greenbul and Fischer's bulbul.

References

Phyllastrephus Greenbuls Birds of East Africa Birds described in 1879 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Pycnonotidae-stub