It is often placed in Hypsipetes, but seems to be closer to the type species of the genus Ixos, the Sunda bulbul.

[1][2] It is found in Southeast Asia and is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.

[1] It is named after British East India Company Surgeon John McClelland.

The mountain bulbul was originally described in the genus Hypsipetes in 1840 by Thomas Horsfield.

Nine subspecies are currently recognized:[4] It is found from the Indian subcontinent and southern China through Indochina to the Malay Peninsula.