D'Arnaud's barbet
| D'Arnaud's barbet | |
|---|---|
| Female, Serengeti National Park | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Lybiidae |
| Genus: | Trachyphonus |
| Species: | T. darnaudii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Trachyphonus darnaudii | |
D'Arnaud's barbet (Trachyphonus darnaudii) is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae that is found in East African. Barbets and toucans are a group of birds with a worldwide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.
Taxonomy
D'Arnaud's barbet was formally described in 1847 as Micropogon darnaudii by the French naturalists Florent Prévost and Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs.[2] The species was named in honour of the French explorer and engineer Joseph Pons d'Arnaud.[3] The type locality is the Kordofan region of central Sudan.[4] D'Arnaud's barbet is now one of four species placed in the genus Trachyphonus that was introduced 1821 by the Italian naturalist Camillo Ranzani.[5]
Four subspecies are recognised:[5]
- T. d. darnaudii (Prévost, F & des Murs, MAPO, 1847) – southeastern South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, northeastern Uganda, and west-central Kenya
- T. d. boehmi Fischer, GA & Reichenow, A, 1884 – southern and eastern Ethiopia to southern Somalia, eastern Kenya, and northeastern Tanzania
- T. d. emini Reichenow, A, 1891 – north-central Tanzania (east to Dar es Salaam suburbs)
- T. d. usambiro Neumann, OR, 1908 – southwestern Kenya to north-central Tanzania
The subspecies T. d. usambiro has sometimes been considered as a separate species, the Usambiro barbet.[6]
Behaviour
D'Arnaud's barbet is a small East African bird that feeds on insects, fruits, and seeds. It grows to about eight inches, and is equally at home in trees or on the ground. A vertical tunnel two to three feet into the ground with a sideways and upward turn leads to the nest chamber. In a striking dance the male and female face each on nearby twigs and twitch, bob and sing like mechanical toys.
They vocalize in groups, starting with a specific vocalization described as a chewp noise, often simultaneously raising and fanning the tail.[7]
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Trachyphonus darnaudii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T22726002A94908729. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22726002A94908729.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Prévost, Florent; Des Murs, Marc Athanase Parfait Oeillet (1847). Voyage en Abyssinie exécuté pendant les années 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843 (in French). Vol. 6. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. pp. 133–135.
- ^ Jobling, James A. "darnaudii". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 62.
- ^ a b AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Jacamars, puffbirds, toucans, barbets, honeyguides". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
- ^ Mahamoud Issa, Mathieu; Sikora, Bożena; Rusiecki, Stanisław; Osiejuk, Tomasz S. (2022-09-09). "The Yellow-breasted Barbet (Trachyphonus margaritatus) introduces vocal duets and choruses with a specific multimodal signal, during territorial advertisement". Journal of Ornithology. 164 (1): 183–192. doi:10.1007/s10336-022-02016-w. ISSN 2193-7192.