- Psilopogon duvaucelii
Identification
This species has been split into 2 groups for ease of description
Blue-eared Group
16-17 cm, 6.3-6.7 inches. 31.6-39.5 g, 1.1-1.4 oz
- P. d. cyanotis:
- Black forehead
- Blue mid-crown and throat
- Green hind-crown
- Orangey red cheek patch
- Blue ear-coverts framed with red patches
- Narrow black band between throat and breast
- Green body
- Dark stout beak
- P. d. orientalis:
- Generally slightly larger and paler than P. d. cyanotis
- Thin red patch below the black line separating the throat and breast
- "P. d. stuarti":
- Greeny-blue ear-coverts
- Weak pink throat patch and spot below
- Darker red postauricular and postmalar spots
- Smaller than P. d. cyanotis
- Shorter tail
Black-eared Group
16-17 cm, 6.3-6.7 inches. 26.3-37 g, 0.93-1.3 oz
- "P. d. duvaucelii":
- Black forehead
- Blue crown and throat
- Thick black band between throat and breast some have red below
- Black ear-coverts framed with large red patches
- Red cheek patch
- Pale loral spot
- Green body
- Strong dark beak
- "P. d. gigantorhinus":
- Slightly longer bill than "P. d. duvaucelii"
- Often has blue spotted crown
- "P. d. tanamassae:
- Brighter blue hindcrown and throat
- Red wash behind black breast line
- More blue in tail
Distribution
Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Eastern Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra
Taxonomy
Sometimes placed in the genus Megalaima.
Formerly considered conspecific with Little Barbet.
Subspecies[1]
There are 5 subspecies[1]:
- P. d. cyanotis:
- South-eastern Nepal to Bangladesh, north-eastern India, southern China, Burma, Malay Peninsula
- P. d. orientalis:
- P. d. duvaucelii:
- Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Bangka Island and Borneo
- P. d. gigantorhinus:
- Nias Island (off north-western Sumatra)
- P. d. tanamassae:
- Batu Islands (off western Sumatra)
Several additional subspecies are not recognised by all authorities[2]
Habitat
Broadleaf evergreen forest, woodland to 1525m.
Behaviour
It nests in a tree hole.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-eared Barbet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-eared_Barbet