Genus Stactolaema Phylum Chordata Rank Species | Scientific name Stactolaema olivacea Higher classification Stactolaema | |
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Similar White‑eared barbet, Whyte's barbet, Red‑fronted tinkerbird, Anchieta's barbet, Grey‑throated barbet | ||
Large green barbet at its nest hole
The green barbet (Stactolaema olivacea) is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family (African barbets). It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. It occurs in forests from sea-level to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft). Its isolated populations are vulnerable to forest clearing.
Contents
Large green barbet
Description
They have dull ginger-olive plumage, but are yellower on the wings, and paler below. The head and chin are dark brown in the nominate race, and the eyes vary from dull red to orange. The bill is black and the feet blackish. Juveniles are duller, with brown eyes.
Call
Their call is a repetitive chock, chock, ..., or chop, chop, ..., sometimes in a duet.
Habits
They frequent fruiting branches in the subcanopy, and vary from solitary to social during foraging and roosting. It is a sedentary species which is not known to undertake any movements. It may be particularly dependent on the fruit of wild figs. It breeds in cavities in tree trunks during mid summer.
Taxonomy
The number of races (or species) is not generally agreed upon, and the conservation status of the taxa depend critically on their taxonomic evaluation. Race S. o. hylophona is sometimes merged with woodwardi in a taxon with tentative species status, the so-called Woodward's barbet. These birds have the ear coverts and hind brow marked in yellow, as opposed to the dusky-headed populations. The type was obtained from oNgoye Forest in South Africa, and named for its discoverers, the Woodward brothers. S. o. belcheri, which lacks the yellow ear coverts, is endemic to two isolated inselbergs, and may constitute a third species.