Fig 1 : Red-crowned Barbet
Fig 2 : Fire-tufted Barbet
Fig 3 : Black-browed Barbet
Fig 4 : Coppersmith Barbet
Fig 5 : Coppersmith Barbet
Fig 6 : Lineated Barbet
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The Asian Barbets (family : Megalaimidae) are a
diverse group of mainly forest-dwelling birds which play an important role
in seed dispersal in Southeast Asia's forests.
These are brightly-coloured birds with short tails, large heads and
heavy, parrot-like bills. Their colouration comprises various shades of
green on the body, with multicoloured heads and collars of red, yellow, blue
and black. Many species have bristles above the base of the bill, for
example the Fire-tufted Barbet has distinctive red tufts (Fig 2). The various
species range in size from around 17 cm to 33 cm.
These birds generally inhabit shady lowland and montane forests : their
calls can be heard from a great distance. Like woodpeckers, their
nests are excavated in dead trees. Some species, for example the Fire-tufted
Barbet and Black-browed Barbet, are montane specialists.
They have a prodigious appetite for fruits, berries and figs, and can be
most easily spotted gorging themselves at fruiting trees, before flying
elsewhere to digest their food, and either regurgitate the seeds or pass
them in their faeces. Insects also form a significant part of their diet,
and small vertebrates such as arboreal lizards are sometimes taken.
There are more than 30 species of Asian Barbet, of which more than 20 occur in Southeast Asia.
Fig 1 :
Red-crowned Barbet
Psilopogon rafflesii
Location : Central forests, Singapore
Habitat : Mature lowland secondary forest
Notes : Searching for fruits at mid-canopy level.
Fig 2:
Fire-tufted
Barbet
Psilopogon pyrolophus
Location : Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lower montane, primary rainforest
Notes : Feeding on a fruiting fig tree - the birds carefully select the ripest
figs i.e. those with an orange colour. This species has an unusual call
which is easily mistaken for the buzzing of a cicada.
Fig 3 :
Black-browed
Barbet
Psilopogon oorti
Location : Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Lower montane, primary rainforest
Notes : As well as fruits and figs, barbets also consume insect prey, like
this large beetle.
Figs 4 and 5 :
Coppersmith Barbet
Psilopogon haemacephalus
Location : Portsdown, Singapore
Habitat : Wooded, residential area.
Notes :
Fig 5 : The small (17 cm) Coppersmith Barbet has adapted to open habitat.
Males call from a high perch to proclaim their territory - the call is a
repetitive 'tok, tok'.
Fig 6 : Feeding on ripe figs of
Ficus benjamina
(= Banyan).
Fig 6 :
Lineated
Barbet
Psilopogon lineatus
Location : Ipoh, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia
Habitat : Secondary forest, adjacent to karst limestone.
Fig 7 :
Blue-eared
Barbet
Psilopogon cyanotis
Location : Kaeng Krachan, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Habitat : Lowland forest
Notes : Seen excavating a new hole in a dead tree. Photo by Charles Currin.
Fig 8 :
Green-eared
Barbet
Psilopogon faiostrictus
Location : Kaeng Krachan, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Habitat : Lowland forest
Notes : Attracted to small, ripe, reddish-orange figs.
Photo by Charles Currin. |
