D'Arnaud's barbet

D'Arnaud's barbet (Trachyphonus darnaudii) is an African barbet. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a worldwide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills. Four geographical races (darnaudii, böhmi, emini and usambiro) have been recorded.

D'Arnaud's barbet
Female, Serengeti National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Lybiidae
Genus: Trachyphonus
Species:
T. darnaudii
Binomial name
Trachyphonus darnaudii
(Prévost & Des Murs, 1847)
Subspecies[2]
  • T. d. darnaudii - (Prévost & Des Murs, 1847)
  • T. d. boehmi - Fischer, GA & Reichenow, 1884
  • T. d. usambiro - Neumann, 1908
  • T. d. emini - Reichenow, 1891

D'Arnaud's barbet is a small East African bird that feeds on insects, fruits, and seeds. It grows to about eight inches, and is equally at home in trees or on the ground. A vertical tunnel two to three feet into the ground with a sideways and upward turn leads to the nest chamber. In a striking dance the male and female face each on nearby twigs and twitch, bob and sing like mechanical toys.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2013). "Trachyphonus darnaudii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
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