Black-crested Bulbul (Rubigula flaviventris) [XC295008]
by Bram Piot from Ban Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Phetchaburi, Thailand (call)
Black-crested Bulbul (Rubigula flaviventris) [XC293710]
by Mike Nelson from Tatkon, Yamethin, Naypyidaw Union Territory, Myanmar (song)
Subspecies
Pycnonotus flaviventris, Pycnonotus dispar, Pycnonotus gularis, Pycnonotus melanicterus and Pycnonotus montis, form a superspecies, and have often been treated as conspecific under the name "Pycnonotus melanicterus". Situation in south-eastern Asia complicated by a tight clustering of subspecies and the presence of different colour morphs. It is likely that some described subspecies are insufficiently distinct to warrant recognition. Introduced (subspecies unknown) to Singapore.
The following 12 subspecies are recognised:
melanicterus J. F. Gmelin, 1789 - Sri Lanka. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus melanicterus).
vantynei Deignan, 1948 - Eastern and southern Myanmar and north-eastern and north-western Thailand east to southern China (southern Yunnan, southern Guangxi) and northern Indochina.
xanthops Deignan, 1948 - South-eastern Myanmar (including northern Tenasserim) and western Thailand.
auratus Deignan, 1948 - North-eastern Thailand and central Laos.
johnsoni (Gyldenstolpe, 1913) - Central, north-eastern and south-eastern Thailand and southern Indochina.
elbeli Deignan, 1954 - Gulf of Thailand islands (at least Ko Kut, Ko Chang).
negatus Deignan, 1954 - Southern Myanmar (central Tenasserim) and south-western Thailand (valley of R Mae Klong).
caecilii Deignan, 1948 - Extreme southern Myanmar (southern Tenasserim), south-eastern and south-western Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia.
flaviventris (Tickell, 1833) - Northen, north-eastern and eastern India (Himalayan foothills eastern from Himachal Pradesh, south to to Meghalaya, also hills of Madhya Pradesh, also eastern Ghats from Orissa south to Andhra Pradesh), Nepal, eastern Bangladesh, north, central and western Myanmar and southern China (western Yunnan).
dispar (Tickell, 1833) - Sumatra, Java and Bali. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Ruby-throated Bulbul (Pycnonotus dispar).
gularis Gould, 1836 - Western Ghats southern from Goa, in south-western India. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Flame-throated Bulbul (Pycnonotus gularis).
montis Sharpe, 1879 - Borneo, except southern and coastal areas. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Bornean Bulbul (Pycnonotus montis).