Barbudo Cariblanco

Identificación

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.

Taxonomía

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.

Nombre científico

Psilopogon viridis

Autoridad

(Boddaert, 1783)

Orden

Piciformes

Familia

Megalaimidae

Género

Psilopogon

Distribución y hábitat

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.

Migración

Especie residente

Comportamiento

Patrón migratorio: Especie residente.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional: estable.

Tendencia poblacional

estable