Ruby-throated bulbul

Ruby-throated bulbul
	East Java, Indonesia
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Pycnonotidae
Genus:	Rubigula
Species:	R. dispar
Binomial name
	Rubigula dispar; (Horsfield, 1821)
Synonyms
	Pycnonotus melanicterus dispar; Turdus dispar; Pycnonotus dispar;

The ruby-throated bulbul (Rubigula dispar), or yellow bulbul, also known as flame throated bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds.^[1]^[2] It is found on Sumatra, Java, and Bali.

Taxonomy and systematics

The ruby-throated bulbul was originally described in the genus Turdus and later moved to genus Pycnonotus. Pycnonotus was found to be polyphyletic in recent molecular phylogenetic studies and five bulbul species, including the ruby-throated bulbul, moved to Rubigula.^[2]^[3] Until 2008, the ruby-throated bulbul was considered as conspecific with the black-capped, black-crested, flame-throated and Bornean bulbuls,^[4] but these are all now treated as distinct.^[2]

There are two subspecies:^[2]

Rubigula dispar dispar. Iris yellow. Java, Bali.
Rubigula dispar matamerah. Iris red. Sumatra.

Description

It is 17–20 cm long, virtually crestless, has a black head with a deep red throat, greenish-yellow back and wings, yellow underparts, and a greenish-black tail. The bill and legs are black.^[5]

Distribution and habitat

This is a bird of forest and dense scrub.

Behaviour and ecology

It builds its nest in a bush; two to four eggs are a typical clutch. The ruby-throated bulbul feeds on fruit and insects.

References

^ ^a ^b BirdLife International (2016). "Rubigula dispar". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T103827052A104338311. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103827052A104338311.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bulbuls – IOC World Bird List". IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
^ Shakya, Subir B.; Sheldon, Frederick H. (2017). "The phylogeny of the world's bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) inferred using a supermatrix approach". Ibis. 159 (3): 498–509. doi:10.1111/ibi.12464. ISSN 0019-1019.
^ "Species Version 1 IOC World Bird List (archive)". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
^ Hoyo, Josep del (2020). All the birds of the world. Barcelona: Lynx edicions. p. 620. ISBN 978-84-16728-37-4.

Rasmussen, P.C., and J.C. Anderton. (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2: Attributes and Status. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington D.C. and Barcelona