Double-toothed Barbet Pogonornis bidentatus Scientific name definitions

c. 23 cm; 65–91 g. Large, white-billed red and black barbet. Male nominate subspecies glossy black above, with small white patch on lower back, narrow red wingbar; face and underparts red, with white patch between red belly and black rear flanks; yellow skin around eye, iris yellow to brownish; bill yellowish-white with two notches. Distinguished from Bearded Barbet (Pogonornis dubius) and Black-breasted Barbet (Pogonornis rolleti) by red, not black, throat and breast, and lack of distinct grooves on “double-toothed” bill. Female differs from male only in having tiny black spots or streaks on red adjacent to white flank patch. Immature duller, orbital skin and iris gray. Subspecies aequa­torialis with paler and narrower wingbar.

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Relationship with Bearded Barbet (Pogonornis dubius) and Black-breasted Barbet (Pogonornis rolleti) indicated by plumage pattern and by sexual dimorphism in flank pattern; also related, but less closely, to the Black-backed Barbet (Pogonornis minor) (with Pogonornis minor macclounii) and Brown-breasted Barbet (Pogonornis melanopterus). Subspecies only slightly differentiated; also, proposed subspecies friedmanni (from southern Cameroon to Cabinda, northern Angola) and aethiops (Ethiopia) now included within aequatorialis. Two subspecies recognized.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Forest understory, particularly at edges and around clearings, also secondary forest, streamside forest and woods, thickets, dense woods, trees over cultivation and gardens. Lowlands to 1,800 m generally, to 2,300 m in western Kenya.

Eats fruits and arthropods: avocados, figs, fruits of Musanga, papayas, red peppers, palm nuts; and ants, beetles, Hemiptera, emergent termites, and various larvae. Insects hunted among leaves and along bark; also catches fly occasionally to frequently. Usually forages in dense foliage below 10 m.

Song a buzzy trill of doubled notes at 23–35 per second for up to 15 seconds; pair-members sing synchronously, usually one singing much longer than other; single to triple “krex”, noisy location call, variable, like some calls of Brown-breasted Barbet (Pogonornis melanopterus), Black-backed Barbet (Pogonornis minor) and Bearded Barbet (Pogonornis dubius); also double “aaaaarrk” notes, “awk”, “uh-uh-” sounds, all with fast mechanical clicking elements. Loud bill-snapping and bill-wiping, taps at nest entrance, and flicks wings loudly during encounters.

Season long, perhaps all year in many areas; more often November–May in western Africa, also April–November in Cameroon, Gabon, Ethiopia and Angola. In pairs, with or without helpers. Displays mainly by pair, include tail movements, erection of flank feathers (showing sex), bowing, allopreening. Nest excavated mainly by pair, at 2–30 m in rotten tree stub or branch, including isolated tree near cover but in open, cavity entrance 5 cm, depth to 46 cm; nest defended against oxpeckers (Buphagus) and Lesser Honeyguide (Indicator minor). Eggs 2–4; incubation with many change-overs, period c. 13–14 days; hatchlings fed insects, later more fruit, by pair and any helpers, all of which also keep nest clean; nestling period 37–39 days; fledglings, helpers if any, and parents return nightly to roost in nest.

Not globally threatened. Widespread, and reasonably common almost everywhere in range; locally common in Sierra Leone; uncommon and local in Nigeria; fairly common in Kenya; rare, possibly overlooked, in Liberia, where extremely few confirmed records. Adaptable. Occurs in several protected areas, e.g., Comoé National Park (Ivory Coast), Mount Kupé National Park (Cameroon), Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda), Akagera National Park (Rwanda) and Ruvuvu National Park (Burundi).