CreatureData

Straw-headed bulbul

Pycnonotus zeylanicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

CRCritically Endangeredsongbirds

The straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) is a species in the family Pycnonotidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 86 g to 86.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus)
Photo: Flickr user NatureAtYourBackyard . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the straw-headed bulbul

Weight
86.3 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
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the straw-headed bulbul live?

Not recorded

What is the straw-headed bulbul?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, plantations, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching from humans.

The straw-headed bulbul is prized for its singing ability and is a highly sought-after species by bird enthusiasts in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. This trade is causing population reductions across the species' range and is a major barrier to its conservation. Trapping has been facilitated in recent years by the spread of logging roads across its forest habitat. Due to this, the straw-headed bulbul was uplisted from endangered to critically endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018.

From the Wikipedia article “Straw-headed bulbul” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Straw-headed_bulbul&oldid=1383371165), 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 straw-headed bulbul endangered?

The straw-headed bulbul is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Critically Endangered species.

How is the straw-headed bulbul classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPycnonotidae
  6. genusPycnonotus
  7. SpeciesPycnonotus zeylanicus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Sturnus zeylanicus, Tricophorus crispiceps, Turdus ochrocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • Straw-crowned bulbulEnglish
  • Straw-crowned bulbulEnglish
  • Yellow-crowned bulbulEnglish
  • بلبل سيلانيArabic
  • بلبل قشي الرأسArabic
  • bulbul capgrocCatalan
  • bulbul korunkatýCzech
  • bwlbwl corunfelynWelsh
  • SkægbulbulDanish
  • GelbscheitelbülbülGerman
  • orkapa bulbuloEsperanto
  • Bulbul cabeciamarilloSpanish
  • SuurbülbülEstonian
  • tulipääbulbuliFinnish
  • Bulbul à tête jauneFrench
  • zlatnokapi bulbulCroatian
  • sárgafejű bülbülHungarian
  • Cucak rawaIndonesian
  • Bulbul testapagliaItalian
  • キガシラヒヨドリJapanese
  • Manuk CucakrawaJavanese
  • rusvavainikis bulbiulisLithuanian
  • Burung Barau-barauMalay
  • GeelkruinbuulbuulDutch
  • stråbylbylNorwegian
  • bilbil żółtogłowyPolish
  • bulbul-de-coroa-douradaPortuguese
  • bulbul-de-cabeça-douradaPortuguese
  • Рыжеголовый бюльбюльRussian
  • Желтошапочный настоящий бюльбюльRussian
  • bylbyl korunkatýSlovak
  • CangkurawahSundanese
  • orangehuvad bulbylSwedish
  • นกปรอดแม่ทะThai
  • Altın Başlı ArapbülbülüTurkish
  • бюльбюль жовтоголовийUkrainian
  • Chào mào đầu rơmVietnamese
  • 黃冠鵯Chinese
  • 黄冠鹎Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the straw-headed bulbul

Other species in the same genus Pycnonotus.

CompareStraw-headed bulbul vs Red-vented bulbulStraw-headed bulbul vs Red-whiskered bulbulStraw-headed bulbul vs Common bulbulStraw-headed bulbul vs Sooty-headed bulbul

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the straw-headed bulbul?

An adult straw-headed bulbul weighs 86.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the straw-headed bulbul endangered?

The straw-headed bulbul is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the straw-headed bulbul?

The straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) 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). Straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/straw-headed-bulbul

MLA

“Straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/straw-headed-bulbul.

BibTeX
@misc{straw_headed_bulbul_2026,
  title = {Straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/straw-headed-bulbul},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}