Black-collared Barbet
Lybius torquatus
Woodland. Red crown, cheeks, throat and breast; black collar.
Barbets, Tinkerbirds
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Bright red forehead, face and foreneck, broad black collar, golden edges to wing-feathers and heavy black bill with ‘toothed’ ridge. Rarely, yellow replaces the red coloration; see illustration. Immature has red speckling on black. The call is a loud duet, starting with a whirring ‘kerrr-kerrr-kerrr’ and then becoming ‘too-puddely-too-puddely-too-puddely-too-puddely…’ about eight times, accompanied by wing-quivering and bobbing. Also calls ‘snaar’. Occurs in broad-leaved woodland, including well-wooded suburbia.
Quick Facts
Size
19-20 cm - S
Names
A: Rooikophoutkapper
Z: isiQonqotho
Ss: Kopaope
G: Halsband-Bartvogel
Bird Family
Stout-billed, robust and often colourful relatives of the woodpeckers, with loud, characteristic calls. They feed on fruits and insects and excavate nest-holes in trees. The smaller species are called tinkerbirds from the likeness of their calls to the metallic sound of a hammer on an anvil. Immatures are duller than adults.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Occurs in 'broad-leaved woodland', including well-wooded suburbia.
