The red-headed barbet (''Eubucco bourcierii'') 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 lightweig ...

in the family Capitonidae, the New World barbets. It is found in Costa Rica,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

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 ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The red-headed barbet has six subspecies: *''E. b. salvini'' Shelley (1891) *''E. b. anomalus'' Griscom (1929) *''E. b. occidentalis'' Chapman (1914) *''E. b. bourcierii'' Lafresnaye (1845) *''E. b. aequatorialis'' Salvadori & Festa (1900) *''E. b. orientalis'' Chapman (1914)

Description

Male red-headed barbet subspecies except ''E. b. occidentalis'' range in weight from . Females except ''occidentalis'' weigh . Male ''occidentalis'' weigh and females . Males have a red head, an orange to yellow breast, and a white belly . A white collar separates the head from the olive green back. The amount of red on the throat and chest and the width of the orange-yellow breast band vary among the subspecies. The female's crown and nape vary from dull orange to shades of green among the subspecies. Several have a black forehead. Its back is green, the throat grayish yellow with a yellow to orange band below it. Its lower breast is olive-yellow and the belly white. As in the male, there is some variation among subspecies.Foote, D. (2020). Red-headed Barbet (''Eubucco bourcierii''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rehbar1.01 retrieved May 26, 2021

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the red-headed barbet are found thus: *''E. b. salvini'', Costa Rica and western Panama *''E. b. anomalus'', eastern Panama and probably adjacent nortwestern Colombia *''E. b. occidentalis'', both slopes of Colombia's Western Andes *''E. b. bourcierii'', Andes of western Venezuela, the east slope of Colombia's Central Andes, and both slopes of Colombia's Eastern Andes *''E. b. aequatorialis'', coastal mountains and the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador *''E. b. orientalis'', eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru The red-headed barbet inhabits the interior and borders of evergreen mountain

primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

and also adjacent secondary forest. The species' overall elevational range is but there are large geographic variations.

Behavior

Feeding

The red-headed barbet's diet has not been studied in detail, but it is known to include

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s such as caterpillars and adult insects and fruit such as berries and (at feeders) bananas.

Breeding

Little has been published about the red-headed barbet's breeding phenology. Like other New World barbets, they excavate cavities in trees and sometimes in fence posts. The clutch size is two to five; the female incubates at night and both sexes do so during the day.

Vocalization

The red-headed barbet's song has been described as "a resonant, ventriloquial, somewhat toad-like trill ''krrrrrrrrrrr''

Some calls have been described as "grunts and snarls

Status

The IUCN has assessed the red-headed barbet as being of Least Concern. "Although the overall population trend is believed to be one of decline, the rate of decline is not thought to be a cause for concern."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q490209 red-headed barbet Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Birds of the Venezuelan Andes Birds of the Colombian Andes Birds of the Ecuadorian Andes red-headed barbet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot