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White-headed Barbet - BirdForum Opus

Subspecie L. i. albicauda
Photo © by Westmidstraveller
Masai Mara, Kenya, October 2009
Lybius leucocephalus

Identification

Large, black and white, with a heavy, toothed bill.

Variation

Tail is white in some subspecies but not in others.

Nominate Subspecies
Photo © by volker sthamer
Kyambura, QENP, Uganda, January-2019

Distribution

Africa: From Nigeria, Chad and Sudan in the north to Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania in the south.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Lybius leucocephalus has 6 subspecies[1]

  • L. l. leucocephalus:
  • L. l. adamauae:
  • Northern Nigeria to southern Chad, western Central African Republic and north-western Zaire
  • L. l. albicauda:
  • South-western and southern Kenya to northern Tanzania
  • L. l. senex:
  • Highlands of central and south-central Kenya
  • L. l. lynesi:
  • Central Tanzania
  • L. l. leucogaster:
  • Highlands of south-western Angola

Habitat

A bird of open woodland often close to water and areas of cultivation (particularly where there are fig and other fruit trees).

Behaviour

Breeding

Fruit trees are not only important as a source of food but also as nest sites; White-headed Barbets excavate nests in soft-wooded trees (fig, jacaranda etc). They are social birds often found in small groups when all the adults in a group will take part in incubating and feeding the young. However nesting birds may prevent others from roosting in the nest.

Diet

Their diet consists of fruit and insects (including arboreal termites).

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

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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