The green barbet (''Stactolaema olivacea'') 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 Lybiidae family (African barbets). It is found in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It occurs in forests from sea level to . Its isolated populations are vulnerable to forest clearing.

Description

They have dull ginger-olive plumage, but are yellower on the wings, and paler below. The head and chin are dark brown in the nominate race, and the eyes vary from dull red to orange. The bill is black and the feet blackish. Juveniles are duller, with brown eyes.

Call

Their call is a repetitive ''chock, chock, ...'', or ''chop, chop, ...'', sometimes in a duet.

Habits

They frequent fruiting branches in the subcanopy, and vary from solitary to social during foraging and roosting. It is a sedentary species which is not known to undertake any movements. It may be particularly dependent on the fruit of wild figs. It breeds in cavities in tree trunks during midsummer.

Taxonomy

The number of races (or species) is not generally agreed upon, and the conservation status of the taxa depends critically on their taxonomic evaluation. Race ''S. o. hylophona'' is sometimes merged with ''woodwardi'' in a taxon with tentative species status, the so-called Woodward's barbet. These birds have the ear coverts and hind brow marked in yellow, as opposed to the dusky-headed populations. The type was obtained from oNgoye Forest in South Africa, and named for its discoverers, the Woodward brothers. ''S. o. belcheri'', which lacks the yellow ear coverts, is endemic to two isolated inselbergs, and may constitute a third species.

Races

* ''S. o. olivacea'' – coastal Kenya to uplands of central Tanzania * ''S. o. uluguruensis'' –

Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru rang ...

of eastern Tanzania * ''S. o. howelli'' – East Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania * ''S. o. rungweensis'' – Mt Rungwe and Poroto Mts, Tanzania to

Misuku Hills The Misuku Hills are a mountain range in Malawi's Northern Region. Geography The Misuku Hills lie near Malawi's northern border. They are bounded on the north by the Songwe River, which forms Malawi's northern border with Tanzania. Tanzania's Um ...

, northern Malawi * ''S. o. hylophona'' – the Ngarama, Rondo (where common) and possibly Mitundumbea forest reserves of coastal Tanzania * ''S. o. belcheri'' – Mt Thyolo in Malawi and Mt Namuli in Mozambique * ''S. o. woodwardi'' – oNgoye in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1267298 green barbet green barbet Birds of East Africa green barbet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN