Howdy, friends. Although this week was beset by sickness in the Killsock household, I promised a new bird and a new bird you shall have. We’re all ok, we just ended up taking four sick days this week between the two of us. I took off to care for Mrs K and then needed a sick day of my own, it turned out. Anyway, all is well, everyone is healthy, and here is the fluffy bird you were promised.
This week’s bird is another barbet, the coppersmith barbet. This bird lives in a lot of Southeast Asia, including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The coppersmith barbet is so named because its call sounds like a smith striking a piece of metal with a hammer. It does not open its mouth to call, rather, two air sacks in its throat fill with air and then deflate in order to create its signature sound. The coppersmith barbet tends to prefer less dense woodland as well as gardens and groves of trees. Notably for the part of the world in inhabits, it is limited to lower altitudes, generally living below 1,200m (4,000 ft). It tends to live at the higher end of its preferred range when found in the Philippines and Indonesia. Wherever it lives, it needs dead trees from which to excavate a nest.
Coppersmith barbets live alone or in small groups. Large groups will occasionally gather in flowing Ficus trees. These birds will roost in the canopy of their local trees and sun themselves in the mornings, and will flit from branch to branch to settle next to each other. They is mostly frugivorous, although they have been seen to occasionally eat insects including flying termites. The coppersmith also competes for nesting space and food with other similar birds, including several species of barbets, and is sometimes the victim of kleptoparasitism; a wily little future header subject called the red-vented bulbul will steal the fruits the male barbet has collected for his mate.
Mating involves the expected dances, head-tilts and mutual preening. Both parents will incubate the nest. Young birds will often return to the nest early, because if the parents get there first, they will not budge and access to the nest is blocked for the night. There is a curfew joke in there. Or there would be if it had gotten home in time. The coppersmith barbet eats a variety of figs and berries, as well as drupes. This word is new to me and might be more familiar as referring to stone fruit, fruit that has a single hard pit surrounded by flesh.
The coppersmith barbet is rated as of least concern by the IUCN by virtue of its absolutely enormous range. That said, there does appear to be some evidence that pesticides harm it.
Have a good weekend, everybody. Don’t forget to take time out for yourselves and don’t threaten Mayor McSquirrle no matter how weird it gets out there. Because its gonna get weirder before it gets less weird.
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