The white-spectacled bulbul (''Pycnonotus xanthopygos'') is a member 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. It is in length with a wingspan of . These birds live in fruit plantations, gardens, and cities. It is the most common member of the bulbul family in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In Turkey, it is mainly found in the coastal Mediterranean region, but its range extends from Patara/Gelemiş near Kaş in the west to Türkoğlu in the east. Breeding populations are found from Central and Southern Turkey to Western Syria, Lebanon, Western Jordan, Israel, Sinai and western, central and southern Arabia.White-spectacled Bulbul - Pycnonotus xanthopygos
/ref> Both sexes are similar; juveniles have a browner hood and less obvious eye-rings than the adults. The nest – a small cup of thin twigs, grass stems, leaves and moss – is generally located in bushes and lined with hair, shredded bark and small roots.

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-spectacled bulbul was originally described in the genus ''

Ixos ''Ixos'' is a genus of passerine birds in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Ixos'' was introduced in 1825 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck to accommodate the Javan bulbul. The genus name is th ...

''. The white-spectacled bulbul is considered to belong to a

superspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

along with the

Himalayan bulbul The Himalayan bulbul (''Pycnonotus leucogenys''), or white-cheeked bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family found in Central and South Asia. Taxonomy and systematics The Himalayan bulbul is considered to belong to a superspecies a ...

, white-eared bulbul,

African red-eyed bulbul The African red-eyed bulbul or black-fronted bulbul (''Pycnonotus nigricans'') is a species of songbird in the family Pycnonotidae. It is found in south-western Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, ...

Cape bulbul The Cape bulbul (''Pycnonotus capensis'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is an endemic resident breeder in coastal bush, open forest, gardens and fynbos in western and southern South Africa. This species nests mainly in t ...

, and the

common bulbul 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. Ten subspecies are recognised based on the geographical variation in plumag ...

. Alternate names for the white-spectacled bulbul include the several names used for other species (black-capped, dark-capped, spectacled and yellow-vented bulbul) and one name (white-eyed bulbul) shared with the

cream-vented bulbul The cream-vented bulbul (''Pycnonotus simplex'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in south-eastern Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Its ...

References

Pycnonotus Birds of the Middle East Birds described in 1833 Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Taxa named by Wilhelm Hemprich {{Pycnonotidae-stub