Red-headed Barbet
Eubucco bourcierii
Male is unmistakable with bright red head, green back, yellow belly, and stout yellow bill. Also notice the oval-shaped body with large head and short tail. Female is similar to some South American barbet species , but note head pattern: blue cheek, orange side of neck, and black forehead. Usually found in pairs, often accompanying a mixed-species flock in the forest canopy. Sometimes visits fruit feeders.
Identification
Male red-headed barbet subspecies except E. b. occidentalis range in weight from 30 to 41 g (1.1 to 1.4 oz). Females except occidentalis weigh 31 to 38 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz). Male occidentalis weigh 37.8 to 45.1 g (1.33 to 1.59 oz) and females 37.8 to 43.7 g (1.33 to 1.54 oz). Males have a red head, an orange to yellow breast, and a white belly. A white collar separates the head from the olive green back. The amount of red on the throat and chest and the width of the orange-yellow breast band vary among the subspecies. The female's crown and nape vary from dull orange to shades of green among the subspecies. Several have a black forehead. Its back is green, the throat grayish yellow with a yellow to orange band below it. Its lower breast is olive-yellow and the belly white. As in the male, there is some variation among subspecies.
Taxonomy
The red-headed barbet has six subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Eubucco bourcierii
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1845)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Capitonidae
- Genus
- Eubucco
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the red-headed barbet are found thus:<p>The red-headed barbet inhabits the interior and borders of evergreen mountain primary forest and also adjacent secondary forest. The species' overall elevational range is 400 to 2,400 m (1,300 to 7,900 ft) but there are large geographic variations.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The red-headed barbet's diet has not been studied in detail, but it is known to include arthropods such as caterpillars and adult insects and fruit such as berries and (at feeders) bananas.<p>Little has been published about the red-headed barbet's breeding phenology. Like other New World barbets, they excavate cavities in trees and sometimes in fence posts. The clutch size is two to five; the female incubates at night and both sexes do so during the day.<p>The red-headed barbet's song has been described as "a resonant, ventriloquial, somewhat toad-like trill krrrrrrrrrrr" [1]. Some calls have been described as "grunts and snarls" [2].
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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