Pycnonotus pseudosimplex
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The cream-eyed bulbul (Pycnonotus pseudosimplex) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to the island of Borneo. It was formerly considered a white-eyed color morph of the red-eyed Bornean population of the cream-vented bulbul (P. simplex), especially as actual white-eyed morphs of P. simplex exist outside of Borneo. However, genetic analysis indicates that the Bornean white-eyed population is genetically distinct from P. simplex and most closely related the ashy-fronted bulbul (P. cinereifrons) of Palawan in the Philippines, whereas the Bornean red-eyed population is most closely related to white-eyed P. simplex from mainland Southeast Asia, though it could still warrant recognition as a separate subspecies or even species. Unlike the Bornean cream-vented bulbul, the cream-eyed bulbul is also much more habitat-restricted, occurring mostly in old-growth hill forests. Wikipedia →
Call0:20
Malaysia · 2026
© Ding Li Yong · XC1145580 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cream-eyed Bulbul sighting in Sepilok on a given day, based on 108 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 132nd most-seen of the 242 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, August–September and November–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cream-eyed Bulbul in Sepilok on a given day, against under 5% in February, April–July and October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cream-eyed 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Cream-eyed Bulbul sightings, Sepilok ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 10%).
Same genus: Pycnonotus
The closest relatives of the Cream-eyed Bulbul that you can see in Sepilok (genus Pycnonotus, Typical Bulbuls) are Red-eyed Bulbul (about 50%), Yellow-vented Bulbul (about 50%) and Olive-winged Bulbul (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cream-eyed Bulbul is recorded against all the birds logged in Sepilok (108 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.
