White-cheeked Barbet
Psilopogon viridis
A green barbet found only in southern India. Note the dark brown head and characteristic white patterns on its face: a white patch around the ear-coverts, a white line above the eye, and a white throat. Also note the brown neck and breast with white streaks. Immature is duller and has less well-defined patterns on the face than adults. Heard more often that seen; constantly calls “kutrook-kutrook-kutrook” in mid-day hours from all kinds of wooded patches from small parks and homesteads to wet evergreen forests.
Identification
The white-cheeked barbet is 16.5–18.5 cm (6.5–7.3 in) in length. It has a brownish head streaked with white, sometimes giving it a capped appearance. The bill is pale pink. Size varies from the larger northern birds to the southern ones.<p>Like many other Asian barbets, white-cheeked barbets are green, sit still, and perch upright, making them difficult to spot. During the breeding season which begins at the start of summer their calls become loud and constant especially in the mornings. The call, a monotonous Kot-roo...Kotroo... starting with an explosive trrr is not easily differentiated from that of the brown-headed barbet. During hot afternoons, they may also utter a single note wut not unlike the call of collared scops owl or coppersmith barbet. Other harsh calls are produced during aggressive encounters.
Taxonomy
Bucco viridis was the scientific name proposed by Pieter Boddaert in 1783 for a green barbet that had been described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 based on a specimen collected in India. It was illustrated by François-Nicolas Martinet in a hand-coloured plate. It was placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1842 who suggested to use this name instead of Bucco.Its type locality is Mahé, Puducherry in southwestern India. It is a monotypic species.<p>In 2004, molecular phylogenetic research of barbets revealed that the Megalaima species form a clade, which also includes the fire-tufted barbet, the only species placed in the genus Psilopogon at the time. Asian barbets were therefore reclassified under the genus Psilopogon.<p>Results of a phylogenetic study of Asian barbets published in 2013 indicate that the white-cheeked barbet is most closely related to the yellow-fronted barbet (P. flavifrons), which is endemic to Sri Lanka.<p>The relationship of the white-cheeked barbet with some close relatives in its taxon is illustrated below.
- Scientific name
- Psilopogon viridis
- Authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Megalaimidae
- Genus
- Psilopogon
Range and habitat
The main range is along the Western Ghats south from the Surat Dangs and along the associated hills of southern India into parts of the southern Eastern Ghats mainly in the Shevaroy and Chitteri Hills. In some areas such as in the city of Bangalore, it has been suggested that this species may have displaced the brown-headed barbet which was once said to occur there.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Plain Greenbul
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