The black-spotted barbet (''Capito niger'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Capitonidae New World barbets are near passerine birds from the family Capitonidae of the order Piciformes, which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans. The New World barbets are plump birds, with short ...

, the New World barbets. It is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.Short, L.L., J. F. M. Horne, G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Black-spotted Barbet (''Capito niger''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blsbar1.01 retrieved 26 May 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

Until the late 20th century, the black-spotted barbet was often considered to be a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the widespread

gilded barbet The gilded barbet (''Capito auratus'') is a species of bird in the family Capitonidae, the New World barbets, and are close relatives of the toucans. Description It has a total length of c. 20 cm (8 in). As other New World barbets, t ...

(''Capito auratus''). The black-spotted, gilded, and brown-chested barbets (''C. brunneipectus'') apparently form a superspecies.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 23 May 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 24 May 2021 As it is currently defined, the black-spotted barbet is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The black-spotted barbet is long and weighs . It is intricately colored, with much variation in the richness of the colors. The adult male has a red forehead, a yellowish crown and nape, and a black band from the lores to the nape. The nape has dusky streaks. Its upperside is black; its mantle is outlined yellowish and it has yellowish wingbars. Its throat is red, the breast and belly yellow, and the flanks yellow with an olive tinge and black streaks. The adult female is similarly colored but more heavily marked; its upperparts have pale flecks on the black and the breast and belly are spotted or streaked. The immatures are similar to the adults but duller.

Distribution and habitat

The black-spotted barbet is found in the eastern parts of Venezuela's Bolívar and

Delta Amacuro Delta Amacuro State ( es, Estado Delta Amacuro, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State is found to the south, the Atlantic O ...

states, the three countries of the Guianas, and the Brazilian states of

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...

, and

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

north of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

. It inhabits the interiors of a variety of forest types including

terra firme Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

, and várzea. It also uses the forest edges and more open terrain such as gardens and plantations. In elevation it ranges from sea level up to in Venezuela and as high as in the Guianas.

Behavior

Feeding

Though little is known about the black-spotted barbet's diet and foraging habits, they are assumed to be similar to those of the gilded barbet.

Breeding

The black-spotted barbet breeds from September to May and possibly to July. Pairs excavate a cavity in a tree above ground. The female lays three or four eggs and both parents incubate them.

Vocalization

The black-spotted barbet's song is "double, sometimes single, low 'wú-woot' notes

Its call is a scratchy croa

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the black-spotted barbet as being of Least Concern. Though its population has not been quantified, the species is uncommon to widespread in its range and occurs in several protected areas.

References

External links

Black-spotted Barbet videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

(for

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

) Bird Series
Black-spotted Barbet photo gallery
VIRE
Photo-High ResPhoto-Medium Res
nashvillezoo.org—"Ramphastidae"
Photo-High Res
oiseaux {{Taxonbar, from=Q929962

black-spotted barbet The black-spotted barbet (''Capito niger'') is a species of bird in the family Capitonidae, the New World barbets. It is found in Brazil, the Guianas, and Venezuela.Short, L.L., J. F. M. Horne, G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Black-spot ...

Birds of the Guianas Birds of the Brazilian Amazon

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot