Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus Scientific name definitions

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Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

23–24 cm; 82–83 g (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). A striking black, red, yellow and white barbet, with pinkish-white stippled throat, deep yellow bill, black orbital skin, deep red to orange-red or red-brown (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) eye, lower back to uppertail-coverts broadly tipped whitish yellow, and white scapular mark. Sexes alike (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Compared to previously conspecific (see Taxonomy comments) T. togoensis, which occurs immediately E of present species, and <em>T. purpuratus</em> , whose range does not abut that of T. goffinii, the present species most closely resembles togoensis, but has less red on head, black orbital skin (versus yellow in <em>purpuratus</em> and olive-green in togoensis) (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), more spots of pink (less streaky) on throat, more yellow in rump, and somewhat clearer pale yellow below  (without dark markings on flanks and belly of purpuratus).

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

23–24 cm. A striking black, red, yellow and white barbet, with dark silvery-pink throat, yellow bill, dull olive-green orbital skin, deep red to orange-red or red-brown (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) eye, lower back to uppertail-coverts broadly tipped whitish yellow, and white scapular mark. Sexes alike (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Compared to previously conspecific (see Taxonomy comments) <em>T. goffinii</em> , which occurs to W of present species, and <em>T. purpuratus</em> , which ranges to E, the present species differs principally in darker facial skin (versus yellow in purpuratus), much more red on face, cheeks and forecrown than either of the other two species (especially the first-named), no dark markings on yellow of belly and flanks (compared to purpuratus), and different pattern on breast (more streaked than spotted).

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

23–24 cm; 66–109 g (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) (mainly 75–95 g). Nominate race black, red, yellow and white, with silvery-pink throat, yellow bill and facial skin , deep red to orange-red or red-brown (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) eye, and white scapular mark seen when it moves; red spattered about head; tail quite long; usually spotted yellow below. Sexes alike (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Differs from similar Pogonornis bidentatus in white scapular mark, darker (less bright red) throat to breast with pink spotting, lack of red bar in wings, and yellow about belly. Immature paler, black lacks gloss, reds duller and has less on head (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), no silver on throat, which is mainly black with red tips to feathers, more yellow below and has brown eyes (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Race <em>elgonensis</em> very like nominate, but more red , less silvery, on sides of throat .

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Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Sierra Leone E to Ghana–Togo border.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Extreme E Ghana to SW Nigeria.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Lowland and lower montane forest in understorey, especially in treefall gaps and ecotone between tall forest and natural swamp forest, but can persist in cultivated areas provided some tall trees are retained, perhaps even surviving in farmbush in some areas. Sea-level to 1300 m in Liberia.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Lowland and lower montane forest in understorey, also riverside thickets and forest, forested swamps, old secondary forest, dense forest patches, and adjacent gardens and cultivated areas. Sea-level to to 2800 m in E (Mt Elgon, Kenya), though even in this part of Africa found mainly below 2200 m (2 Short, L. L., J. F. M. Horne, and C. Muringo-Gichuki (1990). Annotated check-list of the birds of East Africa. Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology 4:61–246. Close , 3 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ), and further W usually at much lower elevations.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Diet includes arthropods and gastropods; and fruits such as Canthium sp. and Morinda lucida, and in Sierra Leone especially Sterculia. Foraging behaviour and techniques not known to differ from those of T. purpuratus. Occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Nothing known of the species’ diet, but presumably not dissimilar to that of T. purpuratus and T. goffinii. Foraging behaviour and techniques not known to differ from those of T. purpuratus.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Arthropods, including ants and termites, larvae of various insects; also snails; and fruits  of avocados, figs, and diverse species of e.g. Beilschmiedia, Heisteria, Macaranga, Musanga, Polyalthia and Pycnanthus. Skulking forest-understorey bird, feeds mainly below 10 m, often below 5 m, to the ground, but occasionally in canopy; hops and bounds on ground, and up and along branches, gleaning, picking fruits; flycatches occasionally; often perches quietly.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Song very like that of T. purpuratus  (which see, and T. togoensis), but rate of delivery of “hoop” notes is slower, although their notes are structurally similar.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Song  said to be identical to that of T. purpuratus.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Large repertoire; song  (given year-round) (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) low “hoop” notes at 1–2 per second, in series as long as five minutes; duetting infrequent, and female probably utters “wa-hoop” to “wup-oop” in duet; also soft “oop” and chattery “chaa-aa” notes by pair, and in aggressive encounters; soft, irregular “oonk” notes by both of pair in greeting ceremony; soft “ooo-ooo” notes in or at nest; “eh-eh-” calls; “toc-toc”  as alarm; young chatter noisily, or give rattle-li­­­ke notes, and loud “yeh-eh—” when fed. Loud wing-fluttering at c. 15 beats per second in interactions.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Season Oct–Mar in Ghana and Liberia, with singing reaching maximum in E Liberia in Sept–Nov (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Nothing else known, but most aspects of ecology are presumably similar to T. purpuratus.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Season Jan–Jul in Togo (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Nothing else known, but most aspects of ecology are presumably similar to T. purpuratus.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Season Jan–Jul in Nigeria (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); Aug–Jan in Cameroon, C DR Congo and Angola; probably all year in Uganda and Kenya. Nests mainly or entirely in pairs; very pugnacious, especially to other barbets (e.g. Tricholaema lacrymosa) and bulbuls (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), able to nest successfully within large colony of Gymnobucco bonapartei. Duets and displays, including tail-cocking by presumed male, much bowing, erection of throat and facial feathers, wing-spreading, bill-tapping. Both adults excavate unlined cavity  (up to 58 cm deep and 15 cm in diameter) (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) in stub or dead branch, up to 30 m above ground but usually below 8 m, with entrance c. 5·5 cm in diameter (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); rarely uses old woodpecker cavity; nesting trees include Ficus and Polyscias fulva, sometimes isolated outside forest (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Clutch 2–4 white eggs, size 28·5–29·5 mm × 18–20·5 mm (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation and nestling periods unknown; chicks fed 4–14 times per hour, parents keep nest clean by removing faecal material; at least one young may remain with parents up to next breeding period.

Yellow-billed Barbet (Western)

Not globally threatened. Population size unquantified, but inhabits large range estimated at 454,000 km². Densities of up to five pairs/km² in Liberia. Not uncommon in Sierra Leone. Requires forest with dense undergrowth; after forest clearance, often disappears when forest remnants too small or too far apart, although seems able to accept some degree of selective logging (4 Sekercioglu, C. H. (2002). Effects of forestry practices on vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 107(2):229–240. Close ) and it has even been suggested that the species isfavoured by small-scale clearance (5 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ). Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Gola Forests Reserves (Sierra Leone), Banco National Park (Ivory Coast), and Tain Tributaries, Opro River and Afram Headwaters Forest Reserves (Ghana).

Yellow-billed Barbet (Togo)

Not globally threatened. Population size unquantified, but inhabits large range estimated at 254,000 km². Requires forest with dense undergrowth; after forest clearance, often disappears when forest remnants too small or too far apart, although seems able to accept some degree of selective logging (4 Sekercioglu, C. H. (2002). Effects of forestry practices on vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 107(2):229–240. Close ). Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Kalakpa Wildlife Reserve, Kabo River Forest Reserve and Kyabobo National Park (Ghana).

Yellow-billed Barbet (Eastern)

Not globally threatened. Densities of 8–13 pairs/km² in Gabon, where nests may be as close as 200 m. Requires forest with dense undergrowth; after forest clearance, often disappears when forest remnants too small or too far apart, although seems able to accept some degree of selective logging (4 Sekercioglu, C. H. (2002). Effects of forestry practices on vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 107(2):229–240. Close ). Occurs in many protected areas, e.g. Korup and Mbam and Djerem National Parks (Cameroon), Budongo Forest Reserve, Impenetrable Forest , Kibale (4 Sekercioglu, C. H. (2002). Effects of forestry practices on vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 107(2):229–240. Close ), Rwenzori Mountains and Semliki National Parks (Uganda), Mount Elgon National Park and Kakamega Nature Reserve  (Kenya), and Kibira National Park (Burundi).