The bristlebills are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''Bleda'' of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

birds in 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, tropical ...

family

Pycnonotidae 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, tropical A ...

. They are found in the forest understorey of western and central Africa. They forage for insects at or near ground-level, often near water. They will follow driver ant swarms to catch prey items fleeing from the ants and they frequently join

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These are ...

s. They are 18–23 cm long with fairly long, stout bills. The upperparts are mainly green-brown while the underparts are yellow. The birds have whistling

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

. The nest is made of leaves or sticks and built in a shrub or small tree. Two eggs are laid.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Bleda'' was introduced in 1857 by the French naturalist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

with the

red-tailed bristlebill The red-tailed bristlebill (''Bleda syndactylus'') or common bristlebill, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is widely present throughout the African tropical rainforest. Taxonomy and systematics The red-tailed bri ...

as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

. The genus was named after

Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes th ...

, elder brother of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and ...

and joint ruler of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

Species

The genus contains five species: *

Red-tailed bristlebill The red-tailed bristlebill (''Bleda syndactylus'') or common bristlebill, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is widely present throughout the African tropical rainforest. Taxonomy and systematics The red-tailed bri ...

(''Bleda syndactylus'') * Green-tailed bristlebill (''Bleda eximius'') * Grey-headed bristlebill (''Bleda canicapillus'') * Yellow-lored bristlebill (''Bleda notatus'') *

Yellow-eyed bristlebill The yellow-eyed bristlebill (''Bleda ugandae'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristleb ...

(''Bleda ugandae'')

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Bleda'': *

Kakamega greenbul Kakamega greenbul (''Arizelocichla kakamegae''), is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in east-central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane for ...

(as ''Xenocichla kakamegae'') * Olive-breasted greenbul (as ''Xenocichla kikuyuensis'') * Mountain greenbul (as ''Xenocichla nigriceps'') * Black-browed greenbul (as ''Xenocichla fusciceps'') * Yellow-throated greenbul (as ''Xenocichla chlorigula'') *

Stripe-cheeked greenbul The stripe-cheeked greenbul (''Arizelocichla milanjensis'') is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in south-eastern Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Taxonomy and systematics ...

(as ''Xenocichla milanjensis'') * Stripe-faced greenbul (as ''Xenocichla striifacies'') * Sjöstedt's greenbul (as ''Xenocichla clamans'') * Yellow-throated leaflove (as ''Xenocichla flavicollis'') * Uganda yellow-throated greenbul (as ''Xenocichla pallidigula'') * Gabon leaflove (as ''Xenocichla orientalis'') * Placid greenbul (as ''Xenocichla placida'') *

Xavier's greenbul Xavier's greenbul (''Phyllastrephus xavieri'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland f ...

(as ''Xenocichla Xavieri'') *

White-throated greenbul The white-throated greenbul (''Phyllastrephus albigularis''), or white-throated bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in many parts of central and western Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical o ...

(as ''Xenocichla albigularis'') * Yellow-streaked greenbul (tenuirostris) (as ''Xenocichla tenuirostris'') * Sharpe's greenbul (as ''Bleda alfredi'') *

Grey-headed greenbul The grey-headed greenbul (''Phyllastrephus poliocephalus''), or grey-headed yellow-bellied greenbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in the Cameroonian Highlands forests. Its natural habitats are subtr ...

(as ''Xenocichla poliocephala'') * Lowland tiny greenbul (as ''Xenocichla debilis'') * Yellow-bearded greenbul (as ''Xenocichla olivacea'')

References

*African Bird club (2006
ABC African Checklist: Passerines
Accessed 31/07/07. *Serle, W.; Morel G.J. & Hartwig, W. (1977) ''Collins Field Guide: Birds of West Africa'', HarperCollins. *Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'', Struik, Cape Town. ;Notes

External links

Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{Pycnonotidae-stub