This bulbul occurs on Morotai, Halmahera, and Bacan in the North Moluccas. A 2013 paper uses the former genus combination Thapsinillas chloris, while the IUCN account uses Hypsipetes chloris. It is frequently recorded in forest and woodland, with some mangrove records.
The 2013 museum review describes the chloris form as small and relatively plain, with olive-green lores and ear-coverts and a blackish area below the moustachial line.
The 2013 review reports high encounter rates in forest and woodland on Halmahera, with less frequent records in mangrove. The IUCN account also lists moist lowland and montane forest, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest as suitable habitat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.