Barbet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Barbet family of birds. For the Barbet dog breed see Barbet (dog).
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 Lineated Barbet
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Psilopogon |
Barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They have a world-wide tropical distribution, with species in Africa, South America and Asia. Africa is home to the most number of species as well as the widest range of habitats occupied by barbets. They are closely related to the toucans and comprise 82 species in six subfamilies.
The barbets are plump birds, with short necks and large heads. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills. Most species are brightly coloured. Most species of barbet live in tropical forest, although several species of African barbet inhabit woodlands, scrub and even semi-arid environments.
Barbets are mostly arboreal birds which nest in tree holes dug by breeding pairs, laying 2-4 eggs. They eat fruit and insects. These birds do not migrate. Two species are threatened by human activities, principally deforestation, although some species have benefited from human activities and have expanded their ranges.
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[edit] Taxonomy and evolution
Fossil barbets have been found dating from the Miocene in both Florida and Europe. It is widely agreed that the closest relatives of the barbets are the toucans, and that these two families are also closely related to the honeyguides and woodpeckers (with which they form the order Piciformes).
The barbets have variously been treated as one family or as three families, the South American barbets (Capitonidae), the African barbets (Lybiidae) and the Asian barbets (Megalaimidae). Occasionally the two species of toucan-barbets from South America are split from the other South American barbets (Semnornithidae). The toucans, which evolved from a common ancestor shared with the South American barbets, are sometimes included in the same family as the barbets, although as they have evolved a suite of characteristics that are unique to themselves they are usually treated separately.
The barbets are broken into six subfamilies. The African terrestrial barbets, Trachyphoninae, range from the southern Sahara to South Africa. Comprised of one genus, Trachyphonus, they are the most open-country species of barbets. The subfamily Lybiinae are also found in Africa and comprise the African arboreal barbets. There are 36 species of Lybiinae in six genera.
The subfamily Calorhamphinae has one species, the Asian Brown Barbet. The remaining 25 species of typical Asian barbets are in two genera the subfamily Megalaimatinae. The two remaining subfamilies are the 13 species (in two genera) of typical American barbets, Capitoninae, and the two species of aberrant American barbet in the genus Semnornis (subfamily Semnornithinae).
[edit] Range and habitat
Most species of barbets are restricted to habitat that has trees with dead wood available for nesting. The Asian and South American species are for the most part confined to lowland forests. Some species range into montane and temperate forest as well, and one species, the Coppersmith Barbet, is adapted to life on the forest edge and in scrub. The African species exhibit more varied choice in their habitat, most ranging both in Central Africa’s rainforests with others living in the more open woodland and even into semi-arid scrub.
[edit] Diet
The diet of barbets is mixed, with fruit being the dominant part of the diet. Small prey items are also taken, especially when nesting. Barbets are capable of shifting their diet quickly in the face of changes in food availability.
Figs of the genus Ficus are the most important fruit taken by barbets. Large fig trees will attract several species of barbet along with other frugivores. In addition to figs numerous other species of fruiting tree and bush are visited, an individual barbet may feed on as many as 60 different species in its range. They will also visit plantations and take cultivated fruit and vegetables. Fruit is eaten whole and indigestible material such as seed pits regurgitated later (often before singing). Regurgitation does not usually happen in the nest (as happens with toucans), although tinkerbirds do place sticky mistletoe seeds around the entrances of their nests, possibly to deter predators. Barbets are thought to be important agents in seed dispersal in tropical forests.
As well as taking fruit barbets also take arthropod prey, gleaned from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide range on insects are taken, including ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, beetles, moths and mantids. Scorpions and centipedes are also taken, and a few species will take small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs and geckos.
[edit] Relationship with humans
Barbets have little impact on humans, although some species, like the Great Barbet and the Lineated Barbet will raid plantations and orchards, particularly in India.
The loss of forest can have a deleterious effect on barbet species dependent on old growth, to the benefit of species that favour more disturbed or open habitat. For example the loss of highland woods in Kenya has seen the Moustached Green Tinkerbird almost disappear and the Red-fronted Tinkerbird expand its range. This pattern has been repeated across South America and Asia; in Singapore only the second-growth tolerant Red-crowned Barbet remains of the original species, as well as the Coppersmith Barbet which has expanded its range and colonised Singapore in the 1960s.
Two species of barbet are listed threatened by the IUCN, both of which are from South America. The White-mantled Barbet of Colombia is listed as endangered, its limited range is threatened by deforestation for agriculture, livestock rearing, mining and the illegal trade in narcotics. The recently discovered Scarlet-banded Barbet of Peru is considered vulnerable due to its small population size (estimated at under a thousand birds) although its habitat is not immediately threatened.
[edit] Species in taxonomic order
- Genus Psilopogon
- Fire-tufted Barbet, Psilopogon pyrolophus
- Genus Megalaima
- Great Barbet, Megalaima virens
- Red-vented Barbet, Megalaima lagrandieri
- Brown-headed Barbet, Megalaima zeylanica
- Lineated Barbet, Megalaima lineata
- White-cheeked Barbet, Megalaima viridis
- Green-eared Barbet, Megalaima faiostricta
- Brown-throated Barbet, Megalaima corvina
- Gold-whiskered Barbet, Megalaima chrysopogon
- Red-crowned Barbet, Megalaima rafflesii
- Red-throated Barbet, Megalaima mystacophanos
- Black-banded Barbet, Megalaima javensis
- Yellow-fronted Barbet, Megalaima flavifrons
- Golden-throated Barbet, Megalaima franklinii
- Black-browed Barbet, Megalaima oorti
- Blue-throated Barbet, Megalaima asiatica
- Mountain Barbet, Megalaima monticola
- Moustached Barbet, Megalaima incognita
- Yellow-crowned Barbet, Megalaima henricii
- Flame-fronted Barbet, Megalaima armillaris
- Golden-naped Barbet, Megalaima pulcherrima
- Blue-eared Barbet, Megalaima australis
- Bornean Barbet, Megalaima eximia
- Crimson-fronted Barbet, Megalaima rubricapilla
- Coppersmith Barbet, Megalaima haemacephala
- Genus Calorhamphus
- Brown Barbet, Calorhamphus fuliginosus
- Genus Gymnobucco
- Naked-faced Barbet, Gymnobucco calvus
- Bristle-nosed Barbet, Gymnobucco peli
- Sladen's Barbet, Gymnobucco sladeni
- Grey-throated Barbet, Gymnobucco bonapartei
- Genus Stactolaema
- White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis
- Anchieta's Barbet, Stactolaema anchietae
- Whyte's Barbet, Stactolaema whytii
- Green Barbet, Stactolaema olivacea
- Genus Pogoniulus , the tinkerbirds
- Speckled Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus scolopaceus
- Western Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus coryphaeus
- Moustached Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus leucomystax
- Green Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus simplex
- Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus atroflavus
- Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus subsulphureus
- Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus bilineatus
- White-chested Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus makawai
- Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus chrysoconus
- Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus pusillus
- Genus Buccanodon
- Yellow-spotted Barbet, Buccanodon duchaillui
- Genus Tricholaema
- Hairy-breasted Barbet, Tricholaema hirsuta
- Red-fronted Barbet, Tricholaema diademata
- Miombo Barbet, Tricholaema frontata
- Pied Barbet, Tricholaema leucomelas
- Spot-flanked Barbet, Tricholaema lachrymosa
- Black-throated Barbet, Tricholaema melanocephala
- Genus Lybius
- Banded Barbet, Lybius undatus
- Vieillot's Barbet, Lybius vieilloti
- White-headed Barbet, Lybius leucocephalus
- Chaplin's Barbet, Lybius chaplini
- Red-faced Barbet, Lybius rubrifacies
- Black-billed Barbet, Lybius guifsobalito
- Black-collared Barbet, Lybius torquatus
- Brown-breasted Barbet, Lybius melanopterus
- Black-backed Barbet, Lybius minor
- Double-toothed Barbet, Lybius bidentatus
- Bearded Barbet, Lybius dubius
- Black-breasted Barbet, Lybius rolleti
- Genus Trachyphonus
- Yellow-billed Barbet, Trachyphonus purpuratus
- Crested Barbet, Trachyphonus vaillantii
- Yellow-breasted Barbet, Trachyphonus margaritatus
- Red-and-yellow Barbet, Trachyphonus erythrocephalus
- D'Arnaud's Barbet, Trachyphonus darnaudii
- Genus Capito
- Scarlet-crowned Barbet, Capito aurovirens
- Scarlet-banded Barbet, Capito wallacei
- Spot-crowned Barbet, Capito maculicoronatus
- Orange-fronted Barbet, Capito squamatus
- White-mantled Barbet, Capito hypoleucus
- Black-girdled Barbet, Capito dayi
- Five-colored Barbet, Capito quinticolor
- Black-spotted Barbet, Capito niger
- Gilded Barbet, Capito auratus
- Brown-chested Barbet, Capito brunneipectus
- Genus Eubucco
- Lemon-throated Barbet, Eubucco richardsoni
- Red-headed Barbet, Eubucco bourcierii
- Scarlet-hooded Barbet, Eubucco tucinkae
- Versicolored Barbet, Eubucco versicolor
- Genus Semnornis
- Toucan Barbet, Semnornis ramphastinus
- Prong-billed Barbet, Semnornis frantzii
[edit] References
- LL Short, JFM Horne (2002) Family Capitonidae (barbets). in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2004) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7. Jamacars to Woodpeckers Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ISBN 84-87334-37-7
[edit] External links
- Barbet videos on the Internet Bird Collection
