Howdy, friends.  I hope everyone is doing well, although I know we are all concerned about the state of the world.  This week’s bird is the double-toothed barbet, which I saw while writing last week’s header and figured we could check out together.  This bird is found in central Africa, from the Atlantic coast almost all the way to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It occupies this nearly 10,000,000 square km range year round. Rather than list all the countries where it lives, I have included a map of its range below.

Double-toothed barbets, named for characteristic kink in their beaks, live in the understory of dense forests.  They also like forest edges, riparian and secondary forests, and have been known to snag fruit from farms and gardens.  It is said to be “ungraceful” in flight.  I’m guessing living in a dense forest and not migrating doesn’t call for a lot of acumen when on the wing.  Still, our new friend has been known to catch flying insects in flight, so it seems like no matter how judge-y scientists get about how it looks while flying, the barbet flies well and with enough precision to hunt that way.  Aside from flying insects, double-toothed barbets will eat a variety of fruits including figs, papayas and avocados.  

These birds are highly social, living almost exclusively in groups of two or more and working together to defend their large territories.  Solitary barbets are rare.  These birds are so into communal living that all members of a group will roost in the same hole excavated from a tree, usually about two meters or more off the ground.  The trees chosen are often rotted, and both members of a breeding pair will work to excavate the nest and defend it.  

Courtship involves the male flashing the white feathers on his flank and sometimes tapping on an available nest entrance to attract a partner. The birds will also preen each other as part of the courtship ritual.  Eggs are incubated for 13 days and the chicks fledge a bit over a month later.  The parents and associated birds work together to keep the nest free of feces. Although I couldn’t find any other info about how else the flock cooperates to raise chicks, it would stand to reason that they work together in other aspects of housekeeping as well.

Double-toothed barbets are listed as of least concern by the IUCN due to their large range, although there are no firm numbers on how many exist.  Regardless, despite human driven habitat destruction, their numbers do not appear to be dropping for now.  

Have a good weekend, and take care of yourselves, PT.  

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