Golden-throated Barbet
Encyclopedia
The Golden-throated Barbet, Megalaima franklinii, is an Asian barbet
. Barbets are a group of near passerine
bird
s with a worldwide tropical distribution. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.
The Golden-throated Barbet is a resident breeder in the hills from northeast India
east to southwestern China
, Malaysia and Vietnam
. It is a species of broadleaf evergreen forest from 900–2565 m altitude. It nests in a tree hole.
This barbet is 20.5-23.5 cm in length. It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head and short tail. The bill is dark, and the body plumage
is green, but the subspecies have different head patterns. The adult northern nominate form has a red and yellow crown, black eyestripe, white lower face neck, and yellow throat. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller with a weaker head pattern.
The male’s territorial call is a very loud pukwowk.
Megalaimidae
A family of birds comprising the Asian barbets, the Megalaimidae were once united with all other barbets in the Capitonidae but they have turned out to be distinct...
. Barbets are a group of near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s with a worldwide tropical distribution. They get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.
The Golden-throated Barbet is a resident breeder in the hills from northeast India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
east to southwestern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Malaysia and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. It is a species of broadleaf evergreen forest from 900–2565 m altitude. It nests in a tree hole.
This barbet is 20.5-23.5 cm in length. It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head and short tail. The bill is dark, and the body plumage
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
is green, but the subspecies have different head patterns. The adult northern nominate form has a red and yellow crown, black eyestripe, white lower face neck, and yellow throat. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller with a weaker head pattern.
- M. f. franklinii, the nominate race, occurs from India east to northern LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and southwestern China, - M. f. ramsayi is found in central and eastern MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
and northern and western ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It has a grey lower throat and grey-streaked black ear coverts. - M. f. trangensis occurs in peninsular Thailand. It resembles the nominate form.
- M. f. minor occurs in the mountains of Malaysia. It resembles the nominate form, but has some blue behind the ear coverts.
- M. f. auricularis is found in the highlands of southern and central CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, central Laos and Vietnam. It resembles the nominate form, but has some blue behind the ear coverts.
The male’s territorial call is a very loud pukwowk.