Coppersmith Barbet
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| Coppersmith Barbet | ||||||||||||||
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| Megalaima haemacephala Statius Muller,, 1776 |
The Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala), also referred to sometimes simply as coppersmith, is a barbet. Barbets are near passerine birds with a world-wide tropical distribution. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.
The Coppersmith Barbet is a resident breeder in India, Sri Lanka, southeast Asia and Indonesia. It is an arboreal species of open wooded country which eats fruit and insects. It nests in a tree hole, laying 2-4 eggs.
This is a relatively small barbet at 17 cm. It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head and short tail.
The adult is mainly green above, and whitish, heavily streaked with green below. It has red forehead and breast patches and yellow patches above and below the eye and on the throat. These are separated by black. Sexes are similar, but juveniles lack the red patches.
The call is a repetitive tuk…tuk…tuk, which sounds like copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6