Barbet Bird

Barbet or the Asian Barbet is a family of bird species that belongs to the family of Megalaimidae. 

These species were once united with all other barbets in the Capitonidae; however, the old species turned out to be distinct in their habitat, diet, and feeding behaviour. However, they are considered, along with the Lybiidae and Ramphastidae, as sister groups.

These species comprise two genera with 30 species native to the forests of the Indomalayan stretching from Tibet to Indonesia.

However, the African barbet belongs to the family of Lybiidae. They were also united with their New World and Asian relatives in the Capitonidae for the time being, however, these species have been confirmed to be restricted to the main New World lineage.

On this page, we will cover the following topics:

• Barbet type - Asian, African, and Brown-headed

• Bird World: Asian and African Barbet

• Taxonomy & Classification

• Description & Identification

• Pictures of Brown-headed Barbet

• Distribution & Range

• Breeding Habits

• Migration & Movement Patterns

• Ecosystem & Habitat

• Diet & Feeding Behavior

• IUCN Status

• Conservation & Survival

Besides these key points, we will have an overview of what we discussed in our article along with Quick Facts on the Asian Barbet. 

Barbet Bird and Its Types

On this page, we will study the three types of barbet bird that are in the following order:

• Asian Barbet Bird

• Brown-headed Barbet Bird

• African Barbet Bird

So, let us start with the classification of Asian barbet followed by the brow-headed and then the African barbet bird.

Asian Barbet Classification 

Barbet Identification

Barbet bird is a small, widespread, and cute little bird with striped underparts and a well-patterned face. 

Most barbet bird species have a red forehead, yellow shading around the eye and the throat, along with a black eyestripe all surrounded at the rear of the crown by a black band. Besides this, they have a red “badge” on the upper chest. 

Talking about the female barbet bird, they are duller than the male, with fewer yellow shading on a narrower red “badge”. An immature bird does not bear all red and has a faint marking on the throat. 

Subspecies of barbet habitats in Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, and the central Philippines have bright red-and-black faces. They are not commonly seen; we can just listen to them, a prolonged and remarkable “kuk-kuk-kuk.” 

They prefer to live in open woodlands, forest edge, and gardens in lowland and foothill areas; ranges up to higher altitudes in the Philippines and Indonesia.

What is an Asian Barbet?

The Asian Barbet is a brown-headed bird whose scientific name is Psilopogon zeylanicus. These species are distributed in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Once they were considered conspecific with Psilopogon lineatus. We also call barbets the polytypic species.

Asian Barbet Etymology

In the past the species were put in three genera, Caloramphus, Megalaima, and Psilopogon, however, contemplates demonstrate that Psilopogon to be settled inside the clade of Megalaima. 

Since members from this clade are better treated under a solitary class, they have been moved to the variety Psilopogon which was portrayed and raised sooner than Megalaima and is accordingly picked based on ordered need standards. Practically all individuals from the family are present in the sort Psilopogon, except for the Caloramphus which is thought to have hereditarily separated from the normal progenitor around 21.32 million years prior. 

The last species is adequately particular to warrant a position in an unmistakable subfamily Caloramphinae. The family name is derived from that of the variety Megalaima which signifies 'enormous throat', from the Greek mega (μέγας, 'huge, incredible') and laimos (λαιμός, 'throat').

Asian Barbet Taxonomy

It's anything but totally settled whether the Early to Middle Miocene (23-12 mya) sort Capitonides from Europe has a place with this family or the African barbets (presently Lybiidae). Surely, given that the ancient birds to some degree looked like a primitive toucan, without these birds' present autapomorphies, they may involve a more basal position among the barbet-toucan clade altogether.

Asian Barbet Description

The diversity of an Asian barbet is concentrated across the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; it is, therefore, probable that the family originated around these places. Usually, they are plump-looking with large heads, and their heavy bill is fringed with bristles. 

The great barbet with a genus of Psilopogon virens)  weighs around 210 g (7.4 oz) and 33 cm (13 inches), and it is the largest of all the bird species, and among its relatives, it surpasses in size by some of the toucans.

Asian Barbet Subfamily 

Asian Barbet Ecosystem and Habitat

Asian barbets are called the birds of the inner forest. One of the species named Coppersmith Barbet is adapted to live on the forest edge and in the scrub.

Asian Barbet Diet and Feeding Behaviour

Asian barbets typically live in inward backwoods. One animal group, the coppersmith barbet, is adapted to live on the woodland edge and in scour. They are principally singular birds, eating bugs and organic products. Figs of the class Ficus are the main natural product taken by Asian barbets. 

Huge fig trees will draw in a few types of barbet alongside other frugivores. Notwithstanding figs, various different types of fruiting tree and bramble are visited; an individual barbet may benefit from upwards of 60 distinct species in its reach. They will likewise visit estates and take developed foods grown from the ground. A natural product is eaten entire and unpalatable material, for example, seed pits disgorged later (regularly prior to singing). Disgorging doesn't normally occur in the home (as occurs with toucans). 

Barbets are believed to be significant specialists in seed dispersal in tropical forests. As well as taking natural products, barbets likewise take arthropod prey, gathered from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide reach of bugs is taken, including insects, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, scarabs, moths, and mantids. 

Scorpions and centipedes are additionally taken, and a couple of animal varieties will take little vertebrates like reptiles, frogs, and geckos.

Asian Barbet Conservation Status

Albeit none of the Asian barbets are viewed as compromised, a few animal types are known to be narrow-minded of deforestation and require old-development woodland to flourish. For instance, in Singapore, just the second-development lenient Red-crowned Barbet survives from the species initially found there, just as the Coppersmith Barbet which has extended its reach and colonized Singapore during the 1960s. 

There is for the most part very little association between Asian barbets and people. A few animal types, similar to the Great Barbet and the Lineated Barbet, will assault manors and plantations, especially in India, and there is some catch for the pen bird exchange because of their wonderful colouration.

Besides these species, we have another species of barbet bird and that is a brown-headed barbet. Now, let’s have an overview of this species:

Brown-headed Barbet 

It is a type of Asian Barbet with the following characteristics:

What is an African Barbet?

From the above text, we understand that the African barbet bird belongs to the family of Lybiidae.

There are 43 species going from the kind sort Lybius of backwoods inside to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of timberland and scrubland. They are found all through sub-Saharan Africa, except for the far southwest of South Africa. 

The African earthly barbets, Trachyphoninae, range from the southern Sahara to South Africa. Individuals from one class, Trachyphonus, are the most open-country types of barbets. The subfamily Lybiinae contains the African arboreal barbets. There are 37 types of Lybiinae in 6 genera.

African Barbet Classification

African Barbet Taxonomy

Lybius is a genus of African barbets belonging to the family of Lybiidae (formerly included in the Capitonidae and often in the Ramphastidae). This genus is spread across sub-Saharan Africa.

The sort Lybius has a place with the order Piciformes, which contains 8 families, including the woodpecker family. Years and years prior, all barbets were believed to be of one family, however, investigations of mitochondrial DNA and DNA hybridization in the mid-1990s have prompted barbets to be parted into three families: Asian barbets (Megalaimidae), African barbets (Lybiidae), and American barbets (Capitonidae). 

The family Lybiidae has a sum of 42 species that happen all through the landmass of Africa from the tip of the Cape Peninsula to the edges of the Sahara desert. Out of the 42 species in this family, Lybius comprises 12 barbet species. These are the most every now and again experienced gathering of African barbets.

African Barbet Description

Most African barbets are around 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in) long, stout looking, with huge heads, and their hefty bill is bordered with bristles; the tinker birds are more modest, running down to the red-rumped tinkerbird (Pogoniulus atroflavus) at 7 g (0.25 oz) weight and 9 cm (3.5 in) length. 

African Barbet Ecology

African barbets are mostly single birds, eating insects and natural products. Figs and various different types of fruiting tree and shrubbery are visited, an individual barbet may benefit from upwards of 60 distinct species in its reach. They will likewise visit manors and take developed leafy foods. The natural product is eaten entirely and unpalatable material, for example, seed pits spewed later (frequently prior to singing). Spewing forth doesn't normally occur in the home (as occurs with toucans), in spite of the fact that tinkerbirds do put tacky mistletoe seeds around the passageways of their homes, perhaps to hinder hunters. As different barbets, they are believed to be significant specialists in seed dispersal in tropical woods. 

Just as taking a natural product, African barbets likewise take arthropod prey, gathered from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide scope of bugs is taken, including insects, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, scarabs, moths, and mantids. Scorpions and centipedes are additionally taken, and a couple of animal varieties will take little vertebrates like reptiles, frogs, and geckos.

Barbet Bird Nest

The precise pattern of the barbet nest of many species is not yet known. Like many members of the order, Piciformes, the barbet bird nest is in holes bored into a tree, and the barbet nest usually carries 2 to 4 eggs, incubated for 13–15 days.

African Barbet Subfamily

Point to Note:

The African Barbet Bird subfamily order is not totally resolved whether the Early to Middle Miocene variety Capitonides from Europe has a place with this family or the Asian barbets (presently Megalaimidae). To be sure, given that the ancient birds fairly looked like a crude toucan (without these birds' present autapomorphies), they may possess a more basal situation among the barbet-toucan clade through and through. Then again, they show a few similarities to Trachyphonus specifically and have even been put into this family, however, this isn't broadly acknowledged.

Bird Calls

• Most of the Lybius species use duetting (an instrumental composition) as a method to embark on one's territory and to find a mate. The species assure that a mate must have coordinating duets in order to be a significant match of each other, which means solitary singers are very rare in the duetting barbet species. 

• Also, this means that duet songs are species-specific, and only paired duetting barbets can hold a territory, which is why lone singers are very less seen. 

The following four known duetting species in this genus are: 

Lybius vieilloti, 

L. leucocephalus, 

L. rubrifacies, and 

L. torquatus 

• However, the duetting of L. chaplini and L. undatus is unknown. Additionally, the behavioural significance of duetting merely involves sex recognition and the maintenance of pair bondage.

• The barbet species in the duet will bow ceremoniously to each other while singing. Besides bowing, certain African barbet species, such as Lybius vieilloti and Lybius torquatus, will incorporate a snarl into their duet.

Barbet Quick Fun Facts

• The breeding period of the brown-headed barbet species starts from the month of February and remains till October. These birds are monogamous (they have a sexual relationship with only one partner at a time). They prefer their nesting sites of tree cavities. Both the adults together excavate the nesting hole.

• Lybius is a genus of African barbet species hailing from the family of Lybiidae (previously included in the Capitonidae and frequently in the Ramphastidae). This genus stretches around sub-Saharan Africa.

• The coppersmith barbet with the scientific name of Psilopogon haemacephalus is also called crimson-breasted barbet and coppersmith. It is an Asian barbet with a crimson forehead and throat, well-known for its metronomic call that sounds like a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer