bulbul

noun

bul·​bul ˈbu̇l-ˌbu̇l How to pronounce bulbul (audio)
1
: a songbird frequently mentioned in Persian poetry that is probably a nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)
2
: any of a group of gregarious passerine birds (family Pycnonotidae) of Asia and Africa

Examples of bulbul in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At a temple on the outskirts of the state capital, the bulbuls — songbirds about the size of a bluejay — fluttered up in the air and swooped down on their opponents, their owners holding a string tied around their legs. Anupam Nath, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024 For a bulbul, the costs of abandoning a nest and starting anew are huge. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2011 The parrots share the trees with parakeets, cockatoos, and exotics like India’s red-whiskered bulbul. Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2021 Birdsong provides a natural soundtrack, as bulbuls, gray wagtails, warblers, blackbirds, and turtledoves all call the garden home. National Geographic, 20 Sep. 2019 To test the durability of the critters, Kenji Suetsugu, a biologist at Kobe University in Japan, and his team fed eggs from three species of stick insect to a brown-eared bulbul birds. Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, 30 May 2018 Found in eastern Asia, bulbuls are known predators of stick insects in Japan. Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, 30 May 2018 Many have particularly bright plumage, such as parrots, parakeets, and hornbills; others, such as the bulbul, sing. Longreads, 22 Mar. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Persian, from Arabic

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bulbul was in 1665

Dictionary Entries Near bulbul

Cite this Entry

“Bulbul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulbul. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on bulbul

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!