Orange-fronted Barbet
Capito squamatus
Chunky black and white bird with a stout bill. Ranges in lowland and foothill rainforest west of the Andes in Ecuador and far southwestern Colombia. Note orange forehead and large white spots on the lower back. Male has white underparts with streaked flanks; female has black throat and breast, and white scaling on the back. Male can be distinguished from Five-colored Barbet by white underparts, crown, and nape. Typically stays high in the canopy, where it joins mixed-species flocks of tanagers and other small birds.
Identification
The orange-fronted barbet is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 56 to 64 g (2.0 to 2.3 oz). The male has a white crown and an orange to red forecrown (the "front"). Its head except for the chin and its upperparts are black; white on some wing feathers remain visible when they are folded. Its underside from chin to the belly are yellowish white, sometimes with an orange tinge. Its flanks usually have light black spotting and the vent area is black. The female's front is yellow-orange; the rest of its head, its throat, and chest are black. Its black back has fine white markings on the wing-coverts.
Taxonomy
The orange-fronted barbet is monotypic. It and the spot-crowned barbet (Capito maculicoronatus) are sister species and may form a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Capito squamatus
- Authority
- Salvin, 1876
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Capitonidae
- Genus
- Capito
Range and habitat
The orange-fronted barbet is found from El Oro Province in southwestern Ecuador north into Nariño Department in extreme southwestern Colombia. There it inhabits wet lowlands and hill country, using primary and secondary forest and their edges as well as more open areas such as farms, orchards, and pastures with trees. In elevation it usually ranges from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft) but can be found up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in some areas.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The orange-fronted barbet usually forages in pairs, hunting all levels of the vegetation, and will join mixed-species foraging flocks. Its diet is primarily fruits and berries but also includes insects and spiders.<p>The orange-fronted barbet nests between July and September and possibly earlier. Like all New World barbets, it excavates a nest hole in a tree; this species apparently sites the cavity several meters above ground. Almost no other information on its breeding phenology has been published.<p>The orange-fronted barbet's song is a "low-pitched, very fast, soft, purring trill" [1]. Its call is a noisy "tyik" or "trrik" [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-crested Malkoha
Dasylophus superciliosus
A large, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill forest. Blackish in plumage, with a bluish gloss on the back and a white tail tip. Note the wide red eye-ring, the yellow bill with red at the base, and the shaggy red crest from the crown. Forages in vine tangles for insects and other animal prey. Similar in size and shape to Scale-feathered Malkoha, but Red-crested lacks the obvious white hood. Call is a sharp “jok!”
Amboyna Cuckoo-Dove
Macropygia amboinensis
A large, long-tailed brown dove with a pale brown head and underparts and darker rufous-brown upperparts. Male displays limited barring on breast and a pale iridescent neck patch. Females show extensive barring on neck. Singles, pairs, and small groups inhabit forests, edges, gardens, and woodlands from sea level to the foothills. Larger than Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove and paler on underparts, without tail barring. Larger than Mackinlay’s Cuckoo-Dove, without breast spotting. Smaller than Great Cuckoo-Dove, with brown underside, unlike that species. Gives an incessant “whop-whop-whop-whop…”.
Streaked Xenops
Xenops rutilans
Small brown bird with large distribution from Costa Rica to Argentina. Rufous-brown overall with whitish eyebrow and a white stripe on the side of the face. Extensive streaking on crown and underparts separates from Plain Xenops. Compare with Slender-billed Xenops, which occurs primarily in lowland Amazonian forests where Streaked does not and is not as boldly streaked. Usually found singly or in pairs following a mixed-species flock. Occurs in mature forests and edges, from the understory to the canopy, but most often at middle levels. Can be found from the lowlands up to around 2,500 m.
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