Ixos malaccensis
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The streaked bulbul (Ixos malaccensis), or green-backed bulbul, is a songbird species in the bulbul family (Pycnonotidae). It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.
The current placement of the streaked bulbul in the genus Ixos is not fixed with any certainty. As the affiliations of the Javan bulbul (the type species of the genus) remain to be re-studied, it is not yet clear if the streaked bulbul should instead be placed in the genus Hemixos or possibly placed in a new genus. Both the alternate name 'green-backed bulbul' and the synonym Hypsipetes malaccensis are also shared with the eastern bearded greenbul. The name 'streaked bulbul' is also used as an alternate name for the Javan bulbul.
Gregory, Steven M. (2000): Nomenclature of the Hypsipetes Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae). Forktail Vol. 16: 164–166. PDF fulltext Moyle, Robert G. & Marks, Ben D. (2006): Phylogenetic relationships of the bulbuls (Aves: Pycnonotidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. Vol. 40... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Streaked Bulbul sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 99 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 97th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Streaked Bulbul in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July, September and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Streaked Bulbul sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Streaked Bulbul sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sepilok (Malaysia, about 20%), Taman Negara National Park (Malaysia, about 20%) and Khao Sok National Park (Thailand, about 10%).
Same family: Pycnonotidae
The closest relatives of the Streaked Bulbul that you can see in Kinabalu Park (family Pycnonotidae, Bulbuls) are Ochraceous Bulbul (about 50%), Flavescent Bulbul (about 20%) and Yellow-vented Bulbul (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Streaked Bulbul is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (99 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
