CreatureData

Black bulbul

Hypsipetes leucocephalus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) is a species in the family Pycnonotidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 46.3 g to 54.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black bulbul

Weight
46.3 g – 54.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.8 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
2src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black bulbul live?

Not recorded

What is the black bulbul?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus), also known as the Himalayan black bulbul or Asian black bulbul, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found primarily in the Himalayas, its range stretching from Pakistan eastward to Southeast Asia. It is the type species of the genus Hypsipetes, established by Nicholas Aylward Vigors in the early 1830s. There are a number of subspecies, mostly varying in the shade of the body plumage which ranges from grey to black, and some also occur in white-headed morphs, as also suggested by its specific epithet leucocephalus, literally "white head". The legs and bill are always rich orange-red.

From the Wikipedia article “Black bulbul” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_bulbul&oldid=1369636521), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black bulbul endangered?

The black bulbul is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black bulbul classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPycnonotidae
  6. genusHypsipetes
  7. SpeciesHypsipetes leucocephalus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Hypsipetes madagascariensis leucocephalus, Turdus leucocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Asian black bulbulEnglish
  • Asian black bulbulEnglish
  • بلبل أسودArabic
  • haipisbnn
  • bulbul negreCatalan
  • bulbul fumat de l'HimàlaiaCatalan
  • Шим бӱльбӱльMari
  • bulbulčík černýCzech
  • bwlbwl duWelsh
  • SortbulbulDanish
  • RotschnabelbülbülGerman
  • China-RotschnabelbülbülGerman
  • ChinarotschnabelbülbülGerman
  • IndienrotschnabelbülbülGerman
  • Indischer RotschnabelbülbülGerman
  • SchwarzbülbülGerman
  • nigra bulbuloEsperanto
  • Bulbul negroSpanish
  • punanokkabulbuliFinnish
  • Bulbul noirFrench
  • בולבול שחור אסיאתיHebrew
  • rašljorepi bulbulCroatian
  • fekete bülbülHungarian
  • Bulbul neroItalian
  • クロヒヨドリJapanese
  • シロガシラクロヒヨドリJapanese
  • 흰머리검은직박구리Korean
  • himalajinis juodasis bulbiulisLithuanian
  • baltgalvas bulbulisLatvian
  • WitkopbuulbuulDutch
  • Himalayaanse Zwarte BuulbuulDutch
  • svartbylbylNorwegian
  • szczeciak granatowyPolish
  • tuta-pretaPortuguese
  • bulbul-pretoPortuguese
  • Белоголовый бюльбюльRussian
  • Белоголовый восточныйбюльбюльRussian
  • bylbyl čiernySlovak
  • Crni bulbulSerbian
  • svartbulbylSwedish
  • นกปรอดดำThai
  • Kırmızı Gagalı ArapbülbülüTurkish
  • горована гімалайськаUkrainian
  • 紅嘴黑鵯Chinese
  • 紅嘴黑鵯〔黑短腳鵯〕Chinese
  • 黑短脚鹎Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black bulbul

Other species in the same genus Hypsipetes.

LC, Least Concern

Seychelles bulbul

Hypsipetes crassirostris

PycnonotidaeNo free photo yet

LC, Least Concern

Yellowish bulbul

Hypsipetes everetti

PycnonotidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBlack bulbul vs Brown-eared bulbulBlack bulbul vs Malagasy bulbulBlack bulbul vs Réunion bulbulBlack bulbul vs Mauritius bulbul

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black bulbul?

An adult black bulbul weighs 46.3 g – 54.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black bulbul endangered?

The black bulbul is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black bulbul?

The black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) belongs to the family Pycnonotidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bulbul

MLA

“Black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bulbul.

BibTeX
@misc{black_bulbul_2026,
  title = {Black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bulbul},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}