Phyllastrephus is a songbird genus in the bulbul family Pycnonotidae. Most of the species in the genus are typical greenbuls, though two are brownbuls, and one is a leaflove.
Taxonomy and systematics The genus Phyllastrephus was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 with Le Jaboteur (Levaillant), now the terrestrial brownbul, as the type species. The title page bears the year 1831 but the volume did not appear until 1832. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek phullon meaning "leaf" with strephō meaning "to toss" or "to turn".
Species The genus contains the following 20 species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Lowland tiny greenbul Phyllastrephus debilis East Africa Montane tiny greenbul Phyllastrephus albigula Usambara and Nguru Mountains White-throated greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis African tropical rainforest - Angola greenbul Phyllastrephus viridiceps northwestern Angola - Xavier's greenbul Phyllastrephus xavieri Congolian rainforests Icterine greenbul Phyllastrephus icterinus African tropical rainforest Terrestrial brownbul Phyllastrephus terrestris miombo, fynbos and east Africa Cameroon olive greenbul Phyllastrephus poensis Western High Plateau Northern brownbul Phyllastrephus strepitans northern East Africa Grey-olive greenbul Phyllastrephus cerviniventris miombo and East Africa Fischer's greenbul Phyllastrephus fischeri southern Somalia to northern Mozambique Cabanis's greenbul Phyllastrephus cabanisi miombo and East Africa Red-tailed leaflove Phyllastrephus scandens African tropical rainforest Sassi's olive greenbul Phyllastrephus lorenzi Congo Basin (north-east) Yellow-streaked greenbul Phyllastrephus flavostriatus Afromontane - Sharpe's greenbul Phyllastrephus alfredi south-western Tanzania, north-eastern Zambia and northern Malawi Grey-headed greenbul Phyllastrephus poliocephalus Western High Plateau Toro olive greenbul Phyllastrephus hypochloris East African montane forestsand northern Victoria Basin - Baumann's greenbul Phyllastrephus baumanni sparsely present across southern West Africa Pale-olive greenbul Phyllastrephus fulviventris gallery forests of southwestern Central Africa
Former species Several species from Madagascar that were formerly placed in the genus Phyllastrephus have now been moved into Bernieria and Xanthomixis. Commonly called the Bernieria and the tetrakas, these species are not bulbuls but Malagasy warblers similar to greenbuls due to convergent evolution. Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Phyllastrephus: Honeyguide greenbul (as Phyllastrephus indicator) Simple greenbul (as Pyrrhurus simplex) Swamp palm bulbul (as Phyllastrephus leucopleurus)
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