African Barbets
Barbets
The Lybiidae family of birds comprises the African barbets. They were formerly sometimes united with their South American and Asian relatives in the Capitonidae (Short & Horne 2002), but this has been confirmed to be limited to the main South American lineage.
There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa.
The African terrestrial barbets, Trachyphoninae, range from the southern Sahara to South Africa. Comprised of one genus, Trachyphonus, they are the most open-country species of barbets. The subfamily Lybiinae contains the African arboreal barbets. There are 36 species of Lybiinae in six genera.
Description
They are usually about 20-25cm long, plump-looking, with large heads, and their heavy bill is fringed with bristles; however the tinkerbirds are smaller, ranging down to the Red-rumped Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus atroflavus) with a mere 7 g and 9 cm (3.6 inches) in length.
Diet / Feeding
They are mainly solitary birds, eating insects and fruit. Figs and numerous other species of fruiting tree and bush are visited, an individual barbet may feed on as many as 60 different species in its range. They will also visit plantations and take cultivated fruit and vegetables. Fruit is eaten whole and indigestible material such as seed pits regurgitated later (often before singing).
Regurgitation does not usually happen in the nest (as happens with toucans), although tinkerbirds do place sticky mistletoe seeds around the entrances of their nests, possibly to deter predators.
As the other barbets, they are thought to be important agents in seed dispersal in tropical forests.
As well as taking fruit, African barbets also take arthropod prey, gleaned from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide range on insects are taken, including ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, beetles, moths and mantids. Scorpions and centipedes are also taken, and a few species will take small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs and geckos.
Breeding / Nesting
The precise nesting details of many African barbets are not yet known, although peculiarly among the Piciformes, some sociable species will nest in riverbanks or termite nests.
Like many members of their order, Piciformes, their nests are in holes bored into a tree, and they usually between 2 to 4 eggs (except for the yellow-breasted barbet which lays up to 6), incubated for 13-15 days. Nesting duties are shared by both parents.
Status
There has been generally little interference by humans.
Some of the species which require primary woodland are declining due to deforestation, occasionally to the benefit of close relatives. For example the loss of highland woods in Kenya has seen the Moustached Green Tinkerbird almost disappear and the Red-fronted Tinkerbird expand its range.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
African Barbet Species (Listing of Species - with links to informational pages and photos)
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