Bulbul

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Bulbul

 

brachydactylous thrushes (Pycnonotidae), a family of birds of the order of sparrows. They have distinctive filiform feathers on head and back; coloration of males and females alike is in gray, olive-green, yellow, or brown tones. There are 15 genera incorporating 120 species; the bulbul is most widespread in the tropical and subtropical zones of the eastern hemisphere. In the USSR the red-eared bulbul (Microscelis amaurotis), the size of a thrush, is found on southern Sakhalin Island. There are three to five eggs in a clutch. The birds feed mainly on berries but also on insects. They sing well (hence the name: in Persian and Turkish bulbul is the nightingale).

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.