White-cheeked barbet
White-cheeked barbet | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Megalaimidae |
Genus: | Psilopogon |
Species: | P. viridis
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Binomial name | |
Psilopogon viridis | |
Synonyms | |
Bucco viridis, Thereiceryx viridis, Megalaima viridis |
The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet (Psilopogon viridis) is a species of
Taxonomy
Bucco viridis was the
In 2004,
Results of a phylogenetic study of Asian barbets published in 2013 indicate that the white-cheeked barbet is most closely related to the
The relationship of the white-cheeked barbet with some close relatives in its taxon is illustrated below.[8]
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Description
The white-cheeked barbet is 16.5–18.5 cm (6.5–7.3 in) in length. It has a brownish head streaked with white, sometimes giving it a capped appearance. The bill is pale pink.[9] Size varies from the larger northern birds to the southern ones.[10]
Like many other Asian barbets, white-cheeked barbets are green, sit still, and perch upright, making them difficult to spot. During the breeding season which begins at the start of summer their calls become loud and constant especially in the mornings. The call, a monotonous Kot-roo...Kotroo... starting with an explosive trrr is not easily differentiated from that of the brown-headed barbet. During hot afternoons, they may also utter a single note wut not unlike the call of collared scops owl or coppersmith barbet. Other harsh calls are produced during aggressive encounters.[11]
Distribution and habitat
The main range is along the
Behaviour and ecology
The Indian ornithologist
Food and feeding
These barbets are arboreal and will rarely visit the ground. They obtain most of the water they need from their fruit diet. When water is available in a tree hole, they will sometimes drink and bathe.[14]
These birds are mostly frugivorous, but will take winged termites and other insects opportunistically. They feed on the fruits of various
These barbets play an important role in forests as seed dispersal agents.[17][18][19] They also visit the flowers of Bombax for nectar and may be involved in pollination.[11]
Their fruit eating makes them a minor nuisance in fruit orchards although they are noted as having a beneficial effect in coffee plantations.[20][21]
A species of tick in the genus
Breeding
In
These birds are primary cavity nesters, chiseling out the trunk or a vertical branch of tree with a round entry hole. They breed from December to July, sometimes raising two broods.[9] Favoured nest trees in urban areas include gulmohur (Delonix regia) and African tulip (Spathodea campanulata). These nest holes may also be used as roosts.[26] They may reuse the same nest tree each year but often excavate a new entrance hole.[27][28]
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Boddaert, P. (1783). "870. Barbu verd". Table des Planches enluminées d'Histoire Naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 53.
- ^ Buffon, G.-L. L. (1780). "Le barbu vert". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 13. Paris: L'Imprimerie Royale. p. 161.
- Daubenton, L.-J.-M. (1765–1783). "Barbu de Mahé". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 9. Paris: L'Imprimerie Royale. p. Plate 870.
- ^ Gray, G. R. (1842). "Appendix to a List of the Genera of Birds". A List of the Genera of Birds (Second ed.). London: R. and J. E. Taylor. p. 12.
- ^ Peters, J. L., ed. (1948). "Genus Megalaima G. R. Gray". Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 31–40.
- PMID 15022769.
- ^ PMID 23511217.
- ^ a b c d Rasmussen, P.C. & Anderton, J.C. (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. p. 277.
- ^ Blanford, W. T. (1895). "Thereiceryx viridis. The Small Green Barbet". The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. 3, Birds (First ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 89–90.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-562063-1.
- ^ George, J., ed. (1994). Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Bangalore. Bangalore: Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore.
- ^ Neelakantan, K.K. (1964). "The Green Barbet Megalaima viridis". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 4 (4): 6–7.
- ^ Yahya, H.S.A. (1991). "Drinking and bathing behaviour of the Large Green Megalaima zeylanica (Gmelin) and the Small Green M. viridis (Boddaert) Barbets". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 88 (3): 454–455.
- S2CID 27827864.
- ^ Kumar, T.N.V. & Zacharias, V.J. (1993). "Time budgets in fruit-eating Koel Eudynamys scolopacea and Barbet Megalaima viridis". In Verghese, A.; Sridhar, S. & Chakravarthy, A.K. (eds.). Bird Conservation: Strategies for the Nineties and Beyond. Bangalore: Ornithological Society of India. pp. 161–163.
- JSTOR 24105700.
- S2CID 84587797.
- S2CID 83574443.
- ^ Yahya, H.S.A. (1983). "Observations on the feeding behaviour of barbet (Megalaima sp.) in coffee estates of South India". Journal of Coffee Research. 12 (3): 72–76.
- .
- JSTOR 3276011.
- S2CID 7661872.
- PMID 5812658.
- ^ a b c Yahya, H.S.A. (1988). "Breeding biology of Barbets, Megalaima spp. (Capitonidae: Piciformes) at Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 85 (3): 493–511.
- ^ Neelakantan, K.K. (1964). "The roosting habits of the barbet". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 4 (3): 1–2.
- ^ Baker, ECS (1927). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume (4. Second ed.). Taylor and Francis, London. p. 114.
- ^ Neelakantan, K.K. (1964). "More about the Green Barbet Megalaima viridis". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 4 (9): 5–7.
Further reading
- Sridhar Hari, Sankar K (2008). "Effects of habitat degradation on mixed-species bird flocks in Indian rain forests". Journal of Tropical Ecology. 24 (2): 135–147. S2CID 86835417.