The Malabar barbet (''Psilopogon malabaricus'') is an

Asian barbet The Asian barbets are a family of bird species, the Megalaimidae, comprising two genera with 35 species native to the forests of the Indomalayan realm from Tibet to Indonesia. They were once clubbed with all barbets in the family Capitonidae bu ...

native to the Western Ghats in India. It was formerly treated as a race of the

crimson-fronted barbet The crimson-fronted barbet (''Psilopogon rubricapillus''), also called Sri Lanka barbet, is an Asian barbet endemic to Sri Lanka where it inhabits tropical moist lowland forests up to elevation. It has a mainly green plumage and wings, a blue b ...

(''Psilopogon rubricapillus''). It overlaps in some places with the range of the

coppersmith barbet The coppersmith barbet (''Psilopogon haemacephalus''), also called crimson-breasted barbet and coppersmith, is an Asian barbet with crimson forehead and throat, known for its metronomic call that sounds similar to a coppersmith striking metal wi ...

(''Psilopogon haemacephala'') and has a similar but more rapid call.

Description

This species can be told apart from the coppersmith barbet by the crimson face and throat. The call notes are more rapidly delivered than in the other species.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in the Western Ghats from around Goa south to southern Kerala in moist evergreen forest mainly below 1200 m elevation. They are also found in coffee estates. They often visit fruiting ''Ficus'' species, joining flocks of green pigeon and mynas.

Behaviour and ecology

These birds are usually seen in pairs during the breeding season but are gregarious in the non-breeding season. In flight, their straight and rapid flight can resemble that of lorikeets. The breeding season is mainly February–March prior to the rains. The nest hole is excavated on the underside of thin branches. It takes about 18 days to excavate the nest. These nest holes are often destroyed by larger barbets that may attempt to enlarge the hole. A nest is made each year. Multiple holes may be made and any extra hole may be used for roosting. Two eggs are laid in a clutch. They are incubated for 14 to 15 days. Eggs may be preyed upon by palm squirrels (''

Funambulus ''Funambulus'' is a genus of rodents in the Sciuridae (squirrel) family, the only one in tribe Funambulini. It contains these species: * Genus ''Funambulus'' ** Subgenus ''Funambulus'' *** Layard's palm squirrel (''F. layardi'') *** Indian palm ...

'' sp.) and they are usually chased away by the adult birds. Unhatched eggs are removed by the parents. For the first week the chicks are fed insects after which they are fed fruits. The chicks fledge in about 35 days. The species feeds mainly on fruits but sometimes takes grubs, termites (flycatching at emerging swarms of alates), ants and small caterpillars. In Kerala, the fruiting trees were limited mainly to ''Ficus'' species, especially ''

Ficus retusa ''Ficus retusa'' is a species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, native to the Malay Archipelago and Malesia floristic region. The species name has been widely mis-applied to ''Ficus microcarpa''. Description ''Ficus retusa'' is a rapidl ...

'', '' Ficus gibbosa'' and '' Ficus tsiela''. When feeding on small fruits, they tend to perch and peck rather than to swallow the fruit whole. In the non-breeding season, they join

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

References

Other sources

* Yahya,HSA (1990) Dietary requirement of Crimson Throated Barbet. Zoos' Print Journal 5(11):7 * Yahya, HSA (1980) A comparative study of ecology and biology of Barbets, Megalaima spp. (Capitonidae: Piciformes) with special reference to ''Megalaima viridis'' (Boddaert) and ''M. rubricapilla malabarica'' (Blyth) at Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Bombay.

External links

Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2884241, from2=Q27074869 Malabar barbet Birds of South India Malabar barbet Malabar barbet Articles containing video clips