Coppersmith barbet

Coppersmith barbet
Megalaima haemacephala
Call
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Megalaimidae
Genus: Megalaima
Species: M. haemacephala
Binomial name
Megalaima haemacephala
Statius Muller, 1776
Synonyms

Xantholaema haemacephala
Bucco indicus

The coppersmith barbet, crimson-breasted barbet or coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala), is a bird with crimson forehead and throat which is best known for its metronomic call that has been likened to a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. It is a resident found in the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Like other barbets, they chisel out a hole inside a tree to build their nest. They are mainly fruit eating but will take sometimes insects, especially winged termites.

Description

Juvenile indica without any red. (Kolkata, India)

This species of barbet is found to overlap in range with several larger barbets in most of South Asia. In the Western Ghats, it partly overlaps with the Malabar barbet which is of a very similar size but having a more rapid call. The red forehead, yellow eye-ring and throat patch with streaked underside and green upperparts, it is fairly distinctive. Juveniles are duller and lack the red patches. The sexes are alike. The Sri Lankan form has more black on the face, more red on the breast and darker streaks on the underside.[2]

During the nesting season, the wear and tear on the feathers can cause the plumage of the upper back to appear bluish.[3]

Within the Old World Megalaima barbets, they are found to be basal in phylogenetic analyses. Most of the remaining Asian species are more recent in their divergence and speciation.[4]

About nine subspecies are well recognized.

The remaining are island populations in Southeast Asia

Habitat and distribution

Throughout their wide range they are found in gardens, groves and sparse woodland. Habitats with trees having dead wood suitable for excavation is said to be important. Birds nest and roost in cavities.[5]

Pair at nest in Kolkata, India.
In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

In the Palni Hills of southern India it is said to occur below 4000 feet.[6] In the Himalayas it is found mainly in the valleys of the outer Himalayas up to 3000 feet. They are rare in the dry desert zones and the very wet forests.[7]

Behaviour and ecology

An adult in Mumbai,India

Keeps solitary, pairs, or small groups; larger parties occasionally on abundantly fruiting Ficus trees. Fond of sunning themselves in the morning on bare top branches of tall trees, often flitting about to sit next to each other. The flight is straight, with rapid flaps.[3]

They compete with other cavity nesting birds and frugivores. Megalaima asiatica have been noted to evict them from their nest holes, while red-vented bulbuls have been seen to indulge in kleptoparasitism, robbing the male of berries brought to the female at the nest.[8]

The nest holes are also used for roosting and some birds roost alone in cavities and these often roost during part of the day. Immatures will roost with the parents but often return to roost early so as not to be prevented by the parents from entering the roost cavity.[5]

Vocalization

The call is a loud rather metallic tuk…tuk…tuk (or tunk), reminiscent of a copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name. Repeated monotonously for long periods, starting with a subdued tuk and building up to an even volume and tempo, the latter varying from 108 to 121 per minute and can continue with as many as 204 notes. They are silent and do not call in winter.[3]

The beak remains shut during each call - a patch of bare skin on both sides of the throat inflates and collapses with each tuk like a rubber bulb and the head is bobbed.[3]

Diet

in Hyderabad, India.

Prefers banyan, peepul, and other wild figs, various drupes and berries, and the occasional insect, caught in aerial sallies.[9][10] Petals of flowers may also be included in their diet.[11] They eat nearly 1.5 to nearly 3 times their body weight in berries each day.[12]

Breeding

Courtship involves singing, puffing of the throat, bobbing of the head, flicking of the tail, ritual feeding and allopreening.[5][13]

They breed through much of the year with local variation. The breeding season is mainly February to April in India and December to September in Sri Lanka. Both sexes excavate the nest on the underside of a narrow horizontal branch. They may also roost inside the nest holes.[2] Three or four eggs are laid and like in many hole nesting birds the incubation period is not well known but has been estimated to be about 2 weeks. Both sexes incubate. Often two broods are raised in quick succession.[3]

Mortality factors

Adult birds are sometimes taken by predatory species. In urban areas, there are records of collisions with structures including white walls.[14] Pesticide poisoning has also been noted.[15]


References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Megalaima haemacephala". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 Rasmussen, PC & JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. pp. 279–280.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ali, S & S D Ripley (1983). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan 4 (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 163–165.
  4. ↑ Moyle, RG (2004). "Phylogenetics of barbets (Aves: Piciformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30 (1): 187–200. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00179-9. PMID 15022769.
  5. 1 2 3 Lok AFSL & Lee TK (2009). "Barbets of Singapore. Part 2: Megalaima haemacephala indica Latham (Coppersmith Barbet), Singapore's only native, urban barbet." (PDF). Nature in Singapore 1: 47–54.
  6. ↑ Dewar, Douglas (1915). Birds of the Indian Hills. John Lane. p. 243.
  7. ↑ Blanford WT (1895). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 3. Taylor and Francis. p. 98.
  8. ↑ Tooth,EE (1901). "Nesting difficulties of the coppersmith.". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 13 (4): 713–714.
  9. ↑ Ali, Salim & Dillon Ripley (1987). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (Vol 4). Oxford University Press. p. 300.
  10. ↑ Aitken,EH (1893). "The habits of the coppersmith". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 8 (2): 326–327.
  11. ↑ Bharos,AMK (1997). "Unusual feeding pattern and diet of Crimsonbreasted Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 94 (2): 411.
  12. ↑ Muthukrishnan,TS; Sundarbabu,Rajeswari (1982). "Feeding habits of Coppersmith Megalaima haemacephala (Muller).". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 79 (1): 197–198.
  13. ↑ Sharma,AK (1993). "Territorial fight among crimsonbreasted barbet". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 33 (5): 95.
  14. ↑ Vijayaraghavan,B (1957). "Accidental death of a Crimsonbreasted Barbet [Megalaima haemacephala (Muller)].". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 54 (2): 462.
  15. ↑ Dhindsa, M.S., J.S. Sandhu, and A.S. Sohi (1986). "Pesticidal mortality of crimson-breasted barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) with a note on its body size.". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 106 (3): 93–96.

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