Barbet Birds of India
Barbet Birds of India’ is the first article in Notes of a Nature Guide series. Notes of a Nature Guide aims to bring you flora and fauna of prominence, with a focus on Indian biodiversity.
Welcome to the incredible world of the Barbets. There are around 90 species in the world spread across the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. India has nine of the ninety barbet species. The Barbet gets its name from the French word “barbe”, which means “beard”. The name refers to the bristles or feathers that often adorn the base of the beak or throat of some barbet species, giving them the appearance of having a beard.
What makes Barbets special?
- Colourful Plumage : Barbets are known for their bright and colourful feathers. Many species have brightly coloured plumage, with hues ranging from bright greens, yellows, and blues to deep reds and browns.
- Unique Bills : Barbets have strong, stout bills that are perfect for breaking open hard fruits and nuts. They have a specialized structure of the skull that allows them to absorb the shock of hitting hard objects, which helps them to crack open seeds and nuts that other birds cannot.
- Distinctive calls: Barbets are also known for their loud and distinctive calls, which can be heard from a long distance. Some species have a very distinctive call that is used to identify them and attract mates.
- Diet & Pollinators : Barbets primarily feed on fruit, but they also eat insects, flowers, and nectar. They play an important role in seed dispersal and pollination, making them important members of many ecosystems. Despite their relatively small size, barbets are important members of many ecosystems, playing a key role in seed dispersal and pollination.
- Nesting habits: Barbets are cavity nesters, which means they build their nests in tree holes or crevices. They usually excavate their own nest cavities using their bills and will reuse the same nest site for many years.
My First Bird
The Barbets hold a special place in my heart, because they are the first birds that I learned about as a nature guide. In Nov-Dec 2022, I was a part of the Certified Nature Guide course conducted by The Naturalist School. Our training was happening in Bannerghatta Jungle Camp, Bangalore which falls in the Eastern Ghats range of India. As we ventured out into the national park for a nature walk, our instructors drew our attention to the repetitive call of a bird somewhere high up in the trees.
‘Do you hear that? The sound that is going – kutroo kutroo kutroo.’
Once you hear it, you will be surprised to hear how often it calls. I had never known of its existence of this bird before that day, and I could never forget about its existence after that day.
That bird was the White-Cheeked Barbet. One of the nine Indian Barbets. Each type has its own unique characteristics and habitats. Let’s have a look at them one by one :-
- Coppersmith Barbet
- White-cheeked Barbet
- Golden-throated Barbet
- Blue-eared Barbet
- Blue-throated Barbet
- Great Barbet
- Brown-headed Barbet
- Malabar Barbet
- Lineated Barbet
Coppersmith Barbet
The Coppersmith Barbet is a small, stocky bird that is found distributed around the Indian sub-continent. It is found in almost all parts of the country, from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. It is particularly abundant in the drier parts of the country, such as the Thar Desert and the Deccan Plateau.
They have a distinctive red forehead, a yellow throat, and a blue patch around their eyes. The upper parts of their body are green, and the lower parts are yellow-green. They have a stout beak that is blackish in color. The bird is named after the metallic ‘tuk-tuk’ sound it makes, which sounds like a coppersmith hammering metal. These birds are commonly found in open woodland, orchards, parks, and gardens. They feed on fruits, insects, and small animals.
White-cheeked Barbet
Identification powered by Merlin :
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.
Golden-throated Barbet
Golden-throated Barbet is a small, colorful bird found in the northeastern parts of India, including the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland. They have a distinctive appearance with their bright green upperparts, yellow underparts, and a striking golden-yellow patch on their throat. They also have a black band across their forehead, and their eyes are surrounded by a white patch of feathers. These birds are typically found in lowland forests, but they can also be found in scrublands, plantations, and gardens. They are cavity nesters. They feed on fruits, berries, and insects.
The Golden-throated Barbet is also known as Franklin’s Barbet because it was named after Sir John Franklin, a British explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic in the early 19th century. Franklin’s Barbet was first described and named by the British ornithologist Thomas Horsfield in 1821, who named it in honor of Sir John Franklin.
Blue-eared Barbet
The Blue-eared Barbet is named for the blue patch of feathers behind its eyes, which contrasts with its greenish-yellow head and body. It also has a black band across its forehead, a red patch on the throat, and a greenish-yellow breast and belly. In India, the Blue-eared Barbet is found in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya, as well as in parts of West Bengal and Sikkim. Although, found in several other regions, such as South-east Asia, the bird is considered rare or locally distributed in many of these areas due to habitat loss, deforestation, and other forms of human encroachment.
Blue-throated Barbet
The Blue-throated Barbet is named for the blue patch of feathers on its throat, which contrasts with its greenish-yellow head and body. It also has a black band across its forehead, a red patch on its lower face, and a greenish-yellow breast and belly. In India, the Blue-throated Barbet is found in the Himalayan foothills, northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and parts of the Western Ghats. However, its distribution in India is somewhat patchy and it is not found in all parts of the country. These birds are prefer subtropical and tropical forests, but they can also be found in scrublands, plantations, and gardens. They feed on fruits, berries, and insects.
Great Barbet
It is the largest of the Barbet species in India. The Great Barbet is found in several parts of India, particularly in the Himalayan foothills, northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and parts of the Western Ghats. It is typically found in evergreen and moist deciduous forests, as well as in plantations and gardens.
Identification powered by Merlin :
“Although colourful in plumage, the Barbet gives often appears all-dark from a distance. No other barbet in its range combines the features of a massive pale bill, black head, and dark olive back. Sluggish and shy; tends to stick to dense forest canopy, where it is difficult to see. Its loud hooting song (typically a series of two repetitive notes) is often the only indication of this species’s presence. Also gives a harsh, screaming “karrrrr” that has a gull-like quality.
Brown-headed Barbet
Found abundantly across India, the Brown-headed Barbet is heard more often than it is seen. It’s most common call is similar to the White-cheeked Barbet “kutrook-kutrook-kutrook,” but it is more mellow, sonorous, and less sharp sounding. As its name suggests, the Brown-headed Barbet has a brown head and throat, with a blue-green back and wings, and a red belly. It has a distinctive black band across its forehead and a thick, curved bill that it uses to feed on fruit, insects, and small vertebrates.
Malabar Barbet
Photo by Priya AV
Distributed primarily in the Western Ghats, hence getting the name Malabar Barbet. Many animals, birds and plants found in the Western Ghats, particularly in the region known as the Malabar region, are named after the region. This is because the Malabar region is known for its high biodiversity and endemism, meaning that many species found there are found nowhere else in the world.
Identification powered by Merlin :
A chunky green barbet with diagnostic red over its entire face, forehead, throat, and breast. It has a diffuse blue band on the sides of the head and breast, while a thick black traverse band separates the blue parts from the red. Some faint streaking visible below on an otherwise green ground color. Juvenile is duller green, lacks the prominent face pattern of the adult, sports a gray band instead of blue, and shows some yellow among the red feathers. Juvenile is best told from a juvenile Coppersmith Barbet by its unstreaked underparts. Malabar Barbet is heard more often than seen. Its call is a fast paced “kuk-kuk-kuk,” doubtfully separable from that of a Coppersmith by its sometimes slightly faster pace. Malabar sticks to the wetter jungles of the Western Ghats and does not occupy the drier or more open habitats of the Coppersmith, though in some localities both species co-occur.
Lineated Barbet
Identification powered by Merlin :
Luminous green barbet with a streaked gray-brown head and a flesh-pink bill. Bare patch of orange skin around the eye creates a monocled appearance. Not as shy as some other barbets, frequently perching up on exposed branches. Inhabits deciduous forests and edge areas, as well as parks and gardens. Primary territorial song is a repetitive “woo-kohw.” A hooting trill is also occasionally given.
In India, it is found in most parts of the country except for the higher elevations of the Himalayas and some parts of the northeastern states. The Lineated Barbet feeds on fruit, insects, and small vertebrates, and is known for its loud, distinctive call, which is a series of sharp, ringing notes that sound like “dink-dink-dink.”
These were the beautiful Barbets of India. Hope you can find them or hear them up in the trees when you go out in nature. Thanks for reading.
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All graphics created by Nayanika Bhatia, using either images found in open source or after crediting the creator.
Bird images sourced from eBird.org
Text is a mix of self-written text and eBird.org
