CreatureData

Common bulbul

Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) is a species in the family Pycnonotidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 32.1 g to 38.5 g and live up to 9.92 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus)
Photo: Ulas koksal1 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common bulbul

Weight
32.1 g – 38.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
9.92 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.4 – 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the common bulbul live?

Not recorded

What is the common bulbul?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is widespread throughout most of Africa except for the very arid areas, and has recently begun breeding in southernmost Spain. Ten subspecies are recognised based on the geographical variation in plumage. Some of these were formerly considered as separate species: Dodson's bulbul, the Somali bulbul and the dark-capped bulbul.

From the Wikipedia article “Common bulbul” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_bulbul&oldid=1377045521), 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 common bulbul endangered?

The common 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 common bulbul classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPycnonotidae
  6. genusPycnonotus
  7. SpeciesPycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789)

Synonyms Turdus barbatus

Other names and names in other languages (72)
  • African yellow-vented bulbulEnglish
  • Black-eyed bulbulEnglish
  • Brown bulbulEnglish
  • COBUEnglish
  • Dark-capped bulbulEnglish
  • Garden bulbulEnglish
  • Tricolored bulbulEnglish
  • Tricoloured bulbulEnglish
  • SwartoogtiptolAfrikaans
  • بلبل بنيArabic
  • بلبل شائعArabic
  • بلبل أسود العينينArabic
  • Брадат бюлбюлBulgarian
  • Bulbul boutinBreton
  • bulbul comúCatalan
  • bulbul barbatCatalan
  • bulbul de ventre blancCatalan
  • bulbul zahradníCzech
  • bwlbwl yr arddWelsh
  • BerberbulbulDanish
  • Berber-bulbulDanish
  • GraubülbülGerman
  • ordinara bulbuloEsperanto
  • Bulbul jardineroSpanish
  • Bulbul naranjeroSpanish
  • aedbülbülEstonian
  • kyläbulbuliFinnish
  • Bulbul des jardinsFrench
  • Bulbul aux lunettesFrench
  • Bulbul garraíIrish
  • בולבולHebrew
  • בולבול אפריקניHebrew
  • sivi bulbulCroatian
  • barna bülbülHungarian
  • GarðaglymurIcelandic
  • Bulbul golaneraItalian
  • アフリカヒヨドリJapanese
  • sodinis bulbiulisLithuanian
  • sodinis biulbiulisLithuanian
  • dārzu bulbulisLatvian
  • grauwe buulbuulDutch
  • hagebylbylNorwegian
  • bilbil ogrodowyPolish
  • ChiricuataPortuguese
  • bulbul-comumPortuguese
  • bulbul-de-dodsonPortuguese
  • Engole-malaguetaPortuguese
  • tuta-de-orelha-brancaPortuguese
  • tuta-do-nortePortuguese
  • бородатый бюльбюльRussian
  • Темнолицый бюльбюльRussian
  • Бородатый настоящий бюльбюльRussian
  • BihpporloddiNorthern Sami
  • bylbyl bradatýSlovak
  • bulbulSlovenian
  • BwotoShona
  • HlakahlotoanaSouthern Sotho
  • Afrički bulbulSerbian
  • LigibholoSwati
  • trädgårdsbulbylSwedish
  • ShoreSwahili
  • Arap bülbülüTurkish
  • esmer arap bülbülüTurkish
  • moRitinkoleTswana
  • RramorutiakolêTswana
  • BhokotaTsonga
  • бюльбюль темноголовийUkrainian
  • IkhwebulaXhosa
  • 羽鬚鵯Chinese
  • 非洲羽須鵯Chinese
  • 黑眼鹎Chinese
  • iPhothweZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common bulbul

Other species in the same genus Pycnonotus.

CompareCommon bulbul vs Red-vented bulbulCommon bulbul vs Red-whiskered bulbulCommon bulbul vs Sooty-headed bulbulCommon bulbul vs Himalayan bulbul

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the common bulbul?

An adult common bulbul weighs 32.1 g – 38.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the common bulbul endangered?

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

How long does the common bulbul live?

The common bulbul has a recorded lifespan of 9.92 years.

What kind of animal is the common bulbul?

The common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) 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). Common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bulbul

MLA

“Common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bulbul.

BibTeX
@misc{common_bulbul_2026,
  title = {Common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bulbul},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}