Bristlebill

The bristlebills are a genus Bleda of passerine birds in the bulbul family Pycnonotidae. 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 flocks.

Bristlebills
Grey-headed bristlebill (Bleda canicapillus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Pycnonotidae
Genus:	Bleda Bonaparte, 1857
Type species
Dasycephala syndactyla (Red-tailed bristlebill) Swainson, 1837
Species
See text
Synonyms
Xenocichla

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.

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 with the red-tailed bristlebill as the type species.^[1] The genus was named after Bleda, elder brother of Attila and joint ruler of the Huns.^[2]

Species

The genus contains five species:^[3]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Red-tailed bristlebill	Bleda syndactylus	African tropical rainforest
	Green-tailed bristlebill	Bleda eximius	Upper Guinean forests
	Grey-headed bristlebill	Bleda canicapillus	Guinean Forests of West Africa
-	Yellow-lored bristlebill	Bleda notatus	Western Congolian rainforests
-	Yellow-eyed bristlebill	Bleda ugandae	Congo Basin and Uganda

Former species

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

• Kakamega greenbul (as Xenocichla kakamegae)^[4]
• Olive-breasted greenbul (as Xenocichla kikuyuensis)^[5]
• Mountain greenbul (as Xenocichla nigriceps)^[6]
• Black-browed greenbul (as Xenocichla fusciceps)^[7]
• Yellow-throated greenbul (as Xenocichla chlorigula)^[8]
• Stripe-cheeked greenbul (as Xenocichla milanjensis)^[9]
• Stripe-faced greenbul (as Xenocichla striifacies)^[10]
• Sjöstedt's greenbul (as Xenocichla clamans)^[11]
• Yellow-throated leaflove (as Xenocichla flavicollis)^[12]
• Uganda yellow-throated greenbul (as Xenocichla pallidigula)^[13]
• Gabon leaflove (as Xenocichla orientalis)^[14]
• Placid greenbul (as Xenocichla placida)^[15]
• Xavier's greenbul (as Xenocichla Xavieri)^[16]
• White-throated greenbul (as Xenocichla albigularis)^[17]
• Yellow-streaked greenbul (tenuirostris) (as Xenocichla tenuirostris)^[18]
• Sharpe's greenbul (as Bleda alfredi)^[19]
• Grey-headed greenbul (as Xenocichla poliocephala)^[20]
• Lowland tiny greenbul (as Xenocichla debilis)^[21]
• Yellow-bearded greenbul (as Xenocichla olivacea)^[22]