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Brown-headed Barbet

Psilopogon zeylanicus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFruitForestCavity nestMedium · 119 g
Brown-headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus), photo 1
Photo: Wildmishra · CC BY 3.0
Brown-headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus), photo 2
Photo: Trikansh sharma · CC0
Brown-headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus), photo 3
Photo: Trikansh sharma · CC0

What the Brown-headed Barbet sounds like

Sonogram of the Brown-headed Barbet: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Vihansith Kulatunga · Song · Palaiyoothu, Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Brown-headed Barbet: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Vihansith Kulatunga · Call, song · Central Bus Station, Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult has a streaked brown head, neck and breast, and a yellow eye patch. The rest of the plumage is green. It is 27 cm (11 in) long with a large head, short neck and short tail. Its call is a repetitive kutroo…kutroo…kutroo, but silent in the winter. Others take up the call when one starts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Brown-headed Barbet

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Brown-headed Barbet

Regular range

The map shades 4 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

India Sri Lanka Nepal Pakistan

About the Brown-headed Barbet

The brown-headed barbet is an Asian barbet species native to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Blue-throated Barbet (Psilopogon asiaticus) Blue-throated BarbetPsilopogon asiaticusThe blue-throated barbet is a non-migratory, arboreal medium-sized barbet, about the size of a myna 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in). Taiwan Barbet (Psilopogon nuchalis) Taiwan BarbetPsilopogon nuchalisIt is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Lineated Barbet (Psilopogon lineatus) Lineated BarbetPsilopogon lineatusThe lineated barbet is an Asian barbet native to the Terai, the Brahmaputra basin to Southeast Asia.

Side by side: Brown-headed Barbet vs Coppersmith Barbet · Brown-headed Barbet vs White-cheeked Barbet · Brown-headed Barbet vs Taiwan Barbet · Blue-throated Barbet vs Brown-headed Barbet

Learn the Brown-headed Barbet in the BeakBrain App

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