White-mantled Barbet
Capito hypoleucus
Endemic to northern Colombia. Glossy black above and off-white below with a vague brown breast band. Look for the stout bill and patch of red on the forehead. Sexes similar. The namesake white mantle can be difficult to see, as these birds tend to stay high in the canopy of tall forest. Usually in pairs, which follow mixed-species flocks.
Identification
With the division of toucan barbet, the white-mantled barbet is perhaps the largest of the New World barbets, rivaled only by the scarlet-banded barbet. with an average length of 19 cm (7.5 in), males and females respectively weigh an average of 74.6 g (2.63 oz) and 67.4 g (2.38 oz). The bird has black upperparts with narrow pale lines on the nape and scapulars. These lines are not easy to see because the bird is mostly observed higher up in the canopy of tall trees. The forehead and crown are red. The bird's underparts are white with a slight yellowish wash and a flush of cinnamon on the breast. They eyes are red, the large, chunky bill is yellowish, and the legs and feet are greenish-grey. Females have a black spot at the base of the lower mandible.
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1897 by English ornithologist Osbert Salvin, based on a sample collected by Antwerp Edgar Pratt in Antioquia Department. The species name is derived from the Latin capito - big-headed, and the Ancient Greek hupo - beneath, and leukos - white.<p>Three subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Capito hypoleucus
- Authority
- Salvin, 1897
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Capitonidae
- Genus
- Capito
Range and habitat
The white-mantled barbet is found in the Middle Magdalena Valley of Colombia at altitudes between 200 and 1,800 m (660 and 5,910 ft).<p>It is a bird of the tropical zone, inhabiting humid forests on montane slopes, forest patches with a mosaic of pastures, secondary forest, and plantations mixed with fruiting trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Splendid Astrapia
Astrapia splendidissima
A long-tailed bird of montane forest. Black back and white base to the upper tail, more extensive in the male. Male has iridescent blue-green underparts, head and bib with rufous breast band and thin, rufous stripe down the side of the neck. Female has a black head and a barred belly. Feeds on fruit and searches for insects on mossy branches and epiphytes. Range of Ribbon-tailed Astrapia may just meet, but Splendid Astrapia female has white in the base of the upper tail. Call, a clicking sound.
Andaman Crake
Rallina canningi
A relatively large, rust-colored crake with a pale bill and barred black-and-white underparts. Very shy and skulking in dense woodland, where it forages on the wet forest floor. Known to be most active at dawn and dusk. Its loud and screechy “chraaw-chraaw-chraaw-...” often gives away its presence in the vicinity.
Rufous-crowned Eremomela
Eremomela badiceps
A small warbler-like bird usually seen in small groups or flocks foraging high above the ground in the forest or forest edge. Pale below with a distinct black chest band separating the white throat from the light gray belly, giving these eremomelas a distinctive “belted” appearance. Upperparts are uniformly gray except for a reddish cap and dark face. Overlaps locally with Turner’s Eremomela in the eastern part of its range, but note Rufous-crowned Eremomela’s extensive reddish cap and big, broad black chest band. Calls consist of a buzzy, sometimes multi-parted “brzrt,” as well as higher-pitched twittering calls sometimes interspersed with more whistled notes and trills.
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