Brown-headed Barbet - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies P. z. zeylanicus
Photo by Andrew S
Garden of Culture Club Hotel, Sri Lanka, 17 November 2003

Psilopogon zeylanicus

Identification

25–28 cm (9¾-11 in)

• Green plumage
• Streaked brown head, neck and breast
• Yellow eye patch
• Heavy conical red bill
  

Sexes similar

Distribution

Asia: found in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Taxonomy

Subspecies P. z. caniceps
Photo by Alok Tewari
Urban Garden, Delhi, India, 9 May 2013

Sometimes placed in the genus Megalaima.

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• P. z. inornatus:

• West-central and south-western India (Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka)

• P. z. caniceps:

• South-western Nepal and northern India

• P. z. zeylanicus:

• Southern India (Kerala and southern Tamil Nandu) and Sri Lanka

Habitat

Open forests and forest edges, woodlands and gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

A fruit-eating bird of the canopy, also eats insects.

Breeding

The nest is in a tree hole. The clutch consists of 2-4 eggs.

Vocalisation

Call: loud, persistant kutro-kutroo

Recording by Alok Tewari
Haridwar, India India, June-2015
Call

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brown-headed Barbet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-headed_Barbet

External Links

Search for photos of Brown-headed Barbet in the gallery

Search for videos of Brown-headed Barbet in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1