This barbet is a Brown-Headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus) which is native to the Indian Subcontinent. This species can be found in southern Nepal, most of India and Sri Lanka. This was probably the species of Barbet we encountered most often on my Indian adventure.
The bird on the tree trunk was feeding very confidently within a temple complex in the city of Bharatpur which is not that far (in Indian terms!) from Agra and the Taj Mahal.
The adult bird has a streaked brown head, neck and breast, an orange eye patch and a heavy, thick set orange beak. The rest of the plumage is green. It is 27 cm long with a large head, short neck and short tail.
The bird on the tree trunk seems to using its tail as a kind of prop, which seems to be a regular behaviour for tree dwelling birds.
In most of these picture you can see bristly, hair-like feathers surrounding a barbet's beak: these are called rictal bristles.
Apparently, the name 'Barbet' comes from the Latin word barba which means meaning beard. This is a reference to the fringe of specialised feathers around their heavy bills. I suppose that makes sense.
As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below. Cheers SM
Thank you Stewart for this lovely post and for being a friend at a difficult time with my husband in hospice care and experiencing dementia. It's very challenging. Nice to come here and share with all of you. Today I brought a Kolea. They fly fly all the way from Alaska to Winter in Hawaii and then they fly back to Alaska in this summer. Remarkable birds. Aloha to you friend
ReplyDeleteHe reminds me of an old man! He has that wise, aged look.
ReplyDeleteThe birds we see every day often get taken for granted, but barbets are such colorful and photogenic characters that they're always worth another click.
ReplyDeleteWow, look at it leaning on its tail! Neat bird!
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeletegood to see... interestingly, in all my time in India I never saw one. Around Mumbai, at least, it is the Coppersmith Barbet that is ubiquitous. YAM xx
Jaki ciekawy ptak! Jest piękny i intrygujący. Fajne zdjęcia udało Ci się mu zrobić. Gratulacje!
ReplyDeleteA brilliant bird! In the Czech language, we call barbets "vousáci", meaning "big beards". :D A bit of an exaggeration, I mean those whiskey feathers around their beak aren't exactly the big full masculine beards the name suggests them to have. Perhaps only the African bearded barbet is an exception.
ReplyDeleteI am very fond of barbets, New World or Old. I last made their acquaintance in Colombia last December.
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