Introducing the Gilded Barbet, a unique bird with a breast that is finely flecked with shades of orange, yellow, and red. With its distinct appearance, the Gilded Barbet stands out among other birds. Its black swathe starts from the base of its bill, running across its eyes towards the back, which is also black with gold barring and streaks. The bird’s throat is orange, fading to yellow on the belly, and flecked with black on either side. The upper parts, wings, and tail are primarily black, while the bill is stubby. The Gilded Barbet also has narrow yellow eyebrows that extend as two parallel lines over the mantle.
The male and female birds have a similar appearance, but the female stands out with her orange to yellow edging along the wing coverts and yellowish streaking on the auriculars and back. Additionally, she has black streaking on the flanks that extends over to the chest. If you find females in the westernmost areas of their range, you may notice a throat streaked with black. This physical difference between the genders helps to identify them easily. The photo provided is credited to Patty McGann under the CC BY 2.0 license.
The image credit goes to PEHart under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. You can spot these feathered friends in various countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. They usually reside in the Orinoco River Basin and the western Amazon Basin.
The Gilded barbet is typically found in tropical forests and woodlands with moist climates. While it is mostly located in lowland areas, it can also be found in the foothills of the eastern Andes.
As a bird with a largely frugivorous diet, it consumes a significant amount of fruit.
Similar to other American barbets, Gilded barbets are believed to make their nests in hollows of trees that are excavated by the breeding pairs. They lay around 2 to 4 eggs inside the nest.
According to the IUCN Red List, this particular type of organism is considered to be of minimal concern.
Check out the bird captured in the video below, all thanks to Patty McGann for sharing the photo under CC BY 2.0 license.