The Réunion bulbul (''Hypsipetes borbonicus'') is a species of 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 of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds. It is endemic to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Réunion bulbul was originally described in the genus ''

Turdus ''Turdus'' is a genus of medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name ''Turdus'' is Latin for 'thrush'. Most of the species are called thrushes; the term thrush is also used for man ...

''. Formerly, some authorities also considered the

Mauritius bulbul The Mauritius bulbul (''Hypsipetes olivaceus''), is a songbird belonging to the bulbul family (biology), family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to Mauritius. Taxonomy and systematics The Mauritius bulbul was the type species of the obsolete genus ' ...

to be a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the Réunion bulbul.Staub (1976), Gregory (2000), BLI (2008) Alternate names for the Réunion bulbul include the Bourbon thrush, olivaceous bulbul, Réunion black bulbul and Réunion merle.

Description

The appearance of the Réunion bulbul is similar to that of the

but is slightly smaller with a length of 22 cm. It is ashy gray with a blackish crest and the iris is conspicuously white. The bill and feet have an orange hue.Staub (1976)

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The female lays two eggs in a cup-shaped nest during the southern summer.

Food and feeding

The Réunion bulbul is primarily . In February and March, it moves from areas of higher elevation, where it inhabits

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

s, to lower valleys to feed on ripe

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

s. Nectar, insects and small lizards enrich its range of food.

Threats

Although assessed as a species

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, the Réunion bulbul is no longer a common bird, mainly due to

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

and competition from the introduced red-whiskered bulbul. In the earlier days of the settlement of Réunion it was hunted for food on a large scale, and was considered as tasty as the ortolan bunting (''Emberiza hortulana''). As late as the 1970s it was hunted excessively. It is also kept as a pet.

References

* Gregory, Steven M. (2000): Nomenclature of the ''Hypsipetes'' Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae). '' Forktail'' 16: 164–166
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* Staub, France (1976), ''Birds of the Mascarenes and Saint Brandon'', Labama House, Port Louis, Mauritius. Hypsipetes Birds of Réunion Endemic birds of Réunion Birds described in 1781 {{Pycnonotidae-stub