Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) are a family of 148 species of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The word Bulbul derives from Persian, meaning nightingale.

The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. While some species are found in most habitats, overall African species are predominately found in rainforest whilst rainforest species are rare in Asia, instead preferring more open areas.

Bulbuls are highly vocal, with the calls of most species being described as nasal or gravelly. The Red-whiskered Bulbuls and Red-vented Bulbuls have been captured for the pet trade in great numbers and, has been widely introduced to tropical and subtropical areas, for example southern Florida, Fiji, Australia and Hawaii.