Rubigula is a genus of Asian passerine birds in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
Taxonomy The genus Rubigula was introduced in 1845 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth. The type species was designated as the ruby-throated bulbul by George Robert Gray in 1855. The name combines the Medieval Latin rubinus meaning "ruby" with Latin gula meaning "throat".
This genus was formerly synonymized with the genus Pycnonotus. A molecular phylogenetic study of the bulbul family published in 2017 found that Pycnonotus was polyphyletic. In the revision to the generic classification five species were moved from Pycnonotus to Rubigula.
Species The genus contains the following eight species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Rubigula flaviventrisBlack-crested bulbul montane South Asia to Malay peninsula Rubigula gularis Flame-throated bulbul Western Ghats Rubigula melanictera Black-capped bulbulSri Lanka Rubigula dispar Ruby-throated bulbul Sumatra, Java, and Bali Rubigula montis Bornean bulbul Borneo montane rain forests Rubigula squamata Scaly-breasted bulbul montane Malaysia Rubigula cyaniventris Grey-bellied bulbul Malaysia Rubigula erythrophthalmos Spectacled bulbul Malaysia
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