Laughingthrushes, Bulbuls, & White-eyes in North America

Sphenisciologist

Sphenisciologist

Well-Known Member
The purpose of this thread is to list as many known holders of species in the families Leiothrichidae, Zosteropidae, and Pycnonotidae as possible. No information older than 2018 was used for this list. As always, corrections and holder additions are not just tolerated, but encouraged and appreciated as well.
Overall this list was pretty nitty gritty - unfortunately a lot of these species have dwindling populations (though the opposite will seem true at first glance) and very few individuals which leads to restricted ability to breed and outreach. ID for some of the birds, particularly the bulbuls and white-eyes, was pretty tricky as a lot of common names are used interchangeably, making things very confusing without extra searches into the zoos collection.
Species with more than 10 or more holders will be in spoilers.

Leiothrichidae

Garrulax

Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (13 holders)
Brookfield Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lincoln Park Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
Roger Williams Park Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Woodland Park Zoo
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Knoxville

Chinese Hwamei (10 holders)
Central Park Zoo
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Tulsa Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo

White-crested Laughingthrush (19 holders)
Charles Paddock Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Memphis Zoo
Mill Mountain Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
National Aviary
Oklahoma City Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Prospect Park Zoo
Safari North Wildlife Park
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Sequoia Park Zoo
Toledo Zoo
Virginia Zoo
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Knoxville

Heterophasia

White-eared Sibia (1 holder)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Lanthocincla

Spotted Laughingthrush (1 holder)
San Diego Zoo

Leiothrix

Red-billed Leiothrix (8 holders)
Bloedel Conservatory
Bronx Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo

Silver-eared Mesia (1 holder)
Blank Park Zoo

Liocichla

Red-faced Liocichla (2 holders)
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Scarlet-faced Liocichla (5 holders)
Bronx Zoo
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
San Diego Zoo

Pterorhinus

Black-throated Laughingthrush (5 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Brookfield Zoo
Phoenix Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

White-throated Laughingthrush (1 holder)
Bird Kingdom

Pycnonotidae

Hypsipetes

Black Bulbul (2 holders)
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

Pycnonotus

Common Bulbul (6 holders)
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Detroit Zoo
Oakland Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo

Himalayan Bulbul (1 holder)
Cape May County Park & Zoo

Red-vented Bulbul (5 holders)
Audubon Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Charles Paddock Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
Zoo Miami

Red-whiskered Bulbul (1 holder)
Philadelphia Zoo

White-eared Bulbul (8 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Milwaukee County Zoo
Phoenix Zoo
Saint Louis Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

Yellow-vented Bulbul (2? holders)
Audubon Zoo(?)
Toledo Zoo(?)

Spizixos

Collared Finchbill (8-11 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Bronx Zoo(?)
Capron Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo(?)
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lincoln Park Zoo
North Carolina Zoo(?)
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Virginia Zoo

Zosteropidae

Cleptornis

Golden White-eye (3 holders)
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
National Aviary
Saint Louis Zoo

Zosterops

Bridled/Saipan White-eye (1 holder)
National Aviary

Japanese White-eye (1 holder)
Butterfly World

Indian White-eye (3 holders)
Louisville Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
 
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Great Argus said:
White-crested Laughingthrush for Woodland Park as well.

I thought Golden White-eye had another couple holders, but no idea where.
Click to expand...
I did some looking into Golden White-Eye holders after the ZCC Global came out for this year, and Toledo came up in my searches as a possible holder. No clue if this is up-to-date or not.
 
Any idea what species the so-called "Japanese White-Eye" would be when factoring the recent taxonomic changes to that genus?

Pretty sure Blank Park no longer has Silver-eared Mesia, but cannot confirm for sure.

Brookfield keeps Common Bulbul.
 
birdsandbats said:
New Any idea what species the so-called "Japanese White-Eye" would be when factoring the recent taxonomic changes to that genus?
Click to expand...

Might be difficult to say, but I'd be inclined to guess Swinhoe's given that species is determined to make up the feral population in California - presumably it would depend on whether the same imports make up all/most of the population.
 
Great Argus said:
Might be difficult to say, but I'd be inclined to guess Swinhoe's given that species is determined to make up the feral population in California - presumably it would depend on whether the same imports make up all/most of the population.
Click to expand...
As I understand several different species are around in the private trade, it just so happens that the feral ones in California are Swinhoe's. Warbling and Indian at the very least are around as well.
 
birdsandbats said:
Any idea what species the so-called "Japanese White-Eye" would be when factoring the recent taxonomic changes to that genus?
Click to expand...
That would be the warbling — going off of the most recent review and species list for Butterfly World as of late 2022, the species kept is Z. japonicus. It’s certainly a rarity in zoos if kept by the facility for sure, but nice to know that it’s still around.
 
For BCLT,

Missing
North Carolina
Dallas
Detroit
Houston
Miami
Bronx
Sedgwick
Tracy

No longer at Atlanta or Rodger Williams

For Hwamei missing
Lincoln Park
Columbus
Lee Richardson
Milwaukee
Virginia
Omaha
SD WAP
Rosamond Gifford

Minnesota no longer has them

For WCLT:
Bronx
Baton Rouge
Birmingham
Honolulu
Louisville
San Diego
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Idaho Falls
Wildlife World Zoo

Sibia:
Pinola

Red-billed Leiothrix:
NorthCarolina
Birmingham
Miller Park
Brookfield
Denver
Detroit
Honolulu
Louisville
Moody Gardens
National Aviary
SD-WAP
Sedgwick

Listed as Scarlet Faced Liocichla, but some of these very well could be red faced. But I think they are managed under a SSP as Scarlet Faced
North Carolina
Miller Park
Colombus
Fort Wayne
Zoo Miami
Milwaukee
Minnesota
National Aviary
Pinola
Sedgwick
Tracy
Reid Park

Black Bulbul:

Moody Gardens
San Antonio

Common Bulbul:
Brookfield
Disney
Toledo

Red Whiskered Bulbul:
Honolulu
Los Angeles
Zoo Miami
Toledo
Reid Park

White eared Bulbul:
Moody Gardens

Ruby Throated bulbul:
Zoo Miami

My list for Collared Finchbill Bulbul is:
Capron Park Zoo
Cincinnati
Disney
Zoo Miami
San Diego
Sedgwick
 
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@birdgirl I appreciate the effort.
I would also be curious to know some of your sources, as a lot of the facilities that you listed for certain species have no recent mention of the species being kept there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
birdgirl said:
No longer at Atlanta or Rodger Williams
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's been at least a decade, if not longer, since Roger Williams has had any laughing thrushes. I'm not even sure if this is a species that the zoo ever held, to be completely honest.
 
- no red-vented bulbuls at the Minnesota Zoo
- as of July, there were golden white-eyes in Toledo
- there are definitely bridled white-eyes held at the Sedgwick County Zoo and I'm not sure about the Indian white-eyes
- there should also be one of the two liocichlas at the Sedgwick County Zoo, as well
 
Update #1

Leiothrichidae

Garrulax

Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (19 holders)
Audubon Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Dallas Zoo
Denver Zoo
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Houston Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
North Carolina Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Sedgwick County Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Knoxville
Zoo Miami

Chinese Hwamei (10-11 holders)
Central Park Zoo
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Lee Richardson Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Minnesota Zoo(?)
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Tulsa Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo

White-crested Laughingthrush (26 holders)
Baton Rouge Zoo
Birmingham Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Charles Paddock Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Honolulu Zoo
Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Louisville Zoo
Memphis Zoo
Mill Mountain Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
National Aviary
Oklahoma City Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Prospect Park Zoo
Safari North Wildlife Park
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Sequoia Park Zoo
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
Toledo Zoo
Virginia Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Knoxville

Heterophasia

White-eared Sibia (2 holders)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Pinola Aviary

Lanthocincla

Spotted Laughingthrush (1 holder)
San Diego Zoo

Leiothrix

Red-billed Leiothrix (12 holders)
Bloedel Conservatory
Bronx Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Detroit Zoo
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Honolulu Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Louisville Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo

Silver-eared Mesia (1 holder)
Blank Park Zoo

Liocichla

Red-faced Liocichla (2 holders)
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Scarlet-faced Liocichla (10 holders)
Bronx Zoo
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
National Aviary
Philadelphia Zoo
Pinola Aviary
Reid Park Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Tracy Aviary

Pterorhinus

Black-throated Laughingthrush (6 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Brookfield Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Phoenix Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

White-throated Laughingthrush (1 holder)
Bird Kingdom

Pycnonotidae

Hypsipetes

Black Bulbul (2-4 holders)
Moody Gardens(?)
San Antonio Zoo(?)
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

Pycnonotus

Common Bulbul (7 holders)
Brookfield Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Detroit Zoo
Oakland Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo

Himalayan Bulbul (1 holder)
Cape May County Park & Zoo

Red-vented Bulbul (4 holders)
Audubon Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Charles Paddock Zoo
Zoo Miami

Red-whiskered Bulbul (4 holders)
Honolulu Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens
Philadelphia Zoo
Reid Park Zoo

White-eared Bulbul (8 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Milwaukee County Zoo
Phoenix Zoo
Saint Louis Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Miami

Yellow-vented Bulbul (2? holders)
Audubon Zoo(?)
Toledo Zoo(?)

Rubigula

Ruby-throated Bulbul (1? holder)
Zoo Miami(?)

Spizixos

Collared Finchbill (8-11 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Bronx Zoo(?)
Capron Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo(?)
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lincoln Park Zoo
North Carolina Zoo(?)
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Virginia Zoo

Zosteropidae

Cleptornis

Golden White-eye (4 holders)
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
National Aviary
Saint Louis Zoo
Toledo Zoo

Zosterops

Bridled/Saipan White-eye (2 holders)
National Aviary
Sedgwick County Zoo

Japanese White-eye (1 holder)
Butterfly World

Indian White-eye (2-3 holders)
Louisville Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo(?)
 
The Silver-eared Mesia at Blank Park should have a question mark after it, not sure they're still around.
 
Sphenisciologist said:
Red-faced Liocichla (2 holders)
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Scarlet-faced Liocichla (5 holders)
Bronx Zoo
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
San Diego Zoo
Click to expand...
Philadelphia only keeps Red-faced.
Sphenisciologist said:
Himalayan Bulbul (1 holder)
Cape May County Park & Zoo
Click to expand...
Does not keep this species.
Sphenisciologist said:
Collared Finchbill (8-11 holders)
Bird Kingdom
Bronx Zoo(?)
Capron Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo(?)
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lincoln Park Zoo
North Carolina Zoo(?)
San Diego Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Virginia Zoo
Click to expand...
Also held by Zoo Miami
 
Do Houston, Louisville, Honolulu, Denver, and Sedgwick County no longer have golden white-eye? Zooinstitutes.com has photos listing them at Houston (as of 2016) and Louisville (as of 2019), Louisville still has a page for them on their website, Pacificbirdconservation.org has a page called "AZA captive programs" that lists them as a holder although it appears to be from 2007, a news video on YouTube depicts Honolulu havig hatched a chick in 2016, and Denver Zoo has something on their website about Sai the golden white-eye.
 
iluvwhales said:
Do Houston, Louisville, Honolulu, Denver, and Sedgwick County no longer have golden white-eye? Zooinstitutes.com has photos listing them at Houston (as of 2016) and Louisville (as of 2019), Louisville still has a page for them on their website, Pacificbirdconservation.org has a page called "AZA captive programs" that lists them as a holder although it appears to be from 2007, a news video on YouTube depicts Honolulu havig hatched a chick in 2016, and Denver Zoo has something on their website about Sai the golden white-eye.
Click to expand...
I typically don’t trust Zooinstitutes, because they’re known to have incomplete and outdated information. If someone can provide further confirmation on the holders that would be good. 2007 is far out of range for my consideration in the list: I would need a more recent source.
 
Did some looking in to Golden White-eye - wasn't particularly fruitful. Most I've found is as of last year there were c. 25 birds at 10 AZA facilities; haven't confirmed who any of those are. They're not an AZA recommended program so we'll probably see them continue to dwindle out.
 
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