# Iole (bird)

Iole is a genus of songbirds in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. They are native to tropical eastern Asia, from India to China and south through Southeast Asia to northern Indonesia.

## Taxonomy and systematics

While some older sources merge this genus into Hypsipetes, this is neither advisable nor technically correct. The two genera stand well apart, and to phylogenetically justify their merging, the entire "Hypsipetes group" of bulbuls would need to be united in a single genus. That would include Hemixos, Ixos, Microscelis and Tricholestes, and probably also Alophoixus and the monotypic Setornis. The hook-billed bulbul may in fact be the closest living relative to the species in Iole, but altogether the present genus may well be a quite basal lineage of the traditional "Hypsipetes group" of bulbuls, with no particularly close relatives among any of these other genera.
According to mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunits 2 and 3 and nDNA β-fibrinogen intron 7 sequence data Alophoixus is only slightly more distant from Hypsipetes than Iole is, whereas mtDNA 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA sequence data places it actually closer to Hypsipetes than to Iole. As the genus name Ixos pre-dates Hypsipetes, it would thus apply to such a thoroughly merged "wastebin taxon".

### Extant species

The following seven species are currently recognized:
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
| - | Finsch's bulbul | Iole finschii | Malesia |
| | Sulphur-bellied bulbul | Iole palawanensis | Palawan |
| - | Olive bulbul | Iole viridescens | Northeast India and western Indochina |
| | Buff-vented bulbul | Iole crypta | Thailand, Malay peninsula and Sumatra |
| | Charlotte's bulbul | Iole charlottae | Borneo |
| - | Cachar bulbul | Iole cacharensis | Northeast India and Bangladesh |
| | Grey-eyed bulbul | Iole propinqua | Indochina and adjacent southern China |

### Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Iole:
* Yellow-browed bulbul (as Iole indica)
* Yellow-browed bulbul (icterica) (as Iole icterica)
* Cinereous bulbul (as Iole cinerea)
* Mindoro bulbul (as Iole Mindorensis)
* Visayan bulbul (as Iole Guimarasensis)
* Zamboanga bulbul (as Iole rufigularis)
* Streak-breasted bulbul (as Iole siquijorensis)
* Romblon bulbul (as Iole cinereiceps)
* Cebu bulbul (as Iole monticola)

## Footnotes

* ↑ "Pycnonotidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
* 1 2 Gregory (2000), Pasquet et al. (2001), Moyle & Marks (2006)
* ↑ Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (eds.). "Family Pycnonotidae". IOC World Bird List. Version 10.2. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
* ↑ "Acritillas indica - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
* ↑ Harrison, John (2011-01-27). A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199585663.
* ↑ "Hemixos cinereus (Cinereous Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes mindorensis (Mindoro Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes guimarasensis (Visayan Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes rufigularis (Zamboanga Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes siquijorensis (Streak-breasted Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes siquijorensis cinereiceps (Romblon Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
* ↑ "Hypsipetes siquijorensis monticola (Cebu Bulbul) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-11-05.