Crimson-fronted barbet explained

The crimson-fronted barbet (Psilopogon rubricapillus), also called Sri Lanka barbet, is an Asian barbet endemic to Sri Lanka where it inhabits tropical moist lowland forests up to 1300m (4,300feet) elevation.

Taxonomy

The crimson-fronted barbet was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the puffbirds in the genus Bucco and coined the binomial name Bucco rubricapillus.^[1] The specific epithet combines the Latin ruber meaning "red" with -caillus meaning "-capped" or "-crowned".^[2] Gmelin based his description on the "red-crowned barbet" that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the English illustrator and naturalist Peter Brown.^[3] The crimson-fronted barbet is now one of 33 species placed in the genus Psilopogon that was introduced in 1836 by Salomon Müller.^{[4] [5]} The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[5]

In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as heen kottoruwa-හීන් කොට්ටෝරුවා in Sinhala language.

Description

The crimson-fronted barbet has a mainly green plumage and wings, a blue band down the side of the head and neck, and a black crescent behind the eye. It is 15cm (06inches) long with a short neck, large head and short tail. Its forages for fruit and insects, and nests in tree holes, laying 2-4 eggs.

External links

• Web site: BirdLife International . Sri Lanka Barbet Psilopogon rubricapillus . 2019 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Gmelin, Johann Friedrich . Johann Friedrich Gmelin. 1788 . Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis . 13th . 1, Part 1 . Latin . Lipsiae [Leipzig] . Georg. Emanuel. Beer . 408 .
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 340 .
3. Book: Brown, Peter . Peter Brown (naturalist) . 1776 . Nouvelles illustrations de zoologie : contenant cinquante planches enlumineés d'oiseaux curieux, et qui non etés jamais descrits, et quelques de quadrupedes, de reptiles et d'insectes, avec de courtes descriptions systematBuffoniques . New illustrations of zoology, containing fifty coloured plates of new, curious, and non-descript birds, with a few quadrupeds, reptiles and insects . London . Imprimé pour B. White . 30, Plate 14 .
4. Müller . Salomon . Salomon Müller . 1835 . Aanteekeningen over de natuurlijke gesteldheid van een gedeelte der westkust en binnenlanden van Sumatra, met bijvoeging van eenige waarnemingen en beschrijvingen van verscheid dieren . Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis en Physiologie . 2 . Dutch . 315–355 [339] . The title page is dated 1835 but the article was not published until 1836.
5. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . January 2023 . Jacamars, puffbirds, toucans, barbets, honeyguides . IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 17 February 2023 .