Coppersmith Barbet

Psilopogon haemacephalus

Family: Asian Barbets · Status: Common resident · Size: 17 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Resident across the Indian subcontinent, southern China, and most of mainland Southeast Asia, extending to Sumatra, Java, and the Philippines.

Identification

Adult distinctive: thick black bill, red legs, bright green upperparts, greenish-white underparts with green streaks, yellow markings on face, upper throat, and upper breast, black eye-stripe, red forecrown and small red patch on lower throat. Juvenile lacks all red and is duller green overall.

Habitat

Parks, gardens, mangroves and wooded areas including forest and forest edge.

Behaviour

Primarily frugivorous, foraging singly or in pairs in the canopy; its repetitive call resembles a coppersmith hammering copper.