Red-fronted bearded bird

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Red-fronted bearded bird
Red-fronted bearded bird

Red-fronted bearded bird

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family : African bearded birds (Lybiidae)
Genre : Bearded Mustache ( Tricholaema )
Type : Red-fronted bearded bird
Scientific name
Tricholaema leucomelas
( Boddaert , 1783)

The Acacia Pied Barbet ( Tricholaema leucomelas ) is a bird art from the family of the African barbets. The species occurs in southern Africa. Several subspecies are distinguished. The IUCN classifies the red-fronted bearded bird as not endangered ( least concern ).

Appearance

Red-fronted bearded bird, above a black-headed bearded bird (illustration by Joseph Smit , 1891)

The males have a wing length of 7.8 to 8.7 centimeters. The tail length is 4.2 to 5.1 centimeters. The beak reaches a length of 1.7 to 2.0 centimeters. Females have similar body measurements. There is no noticeable sexual dimorphism .

Males and females have a red forehead that is separated from the base of the beak by a narrow black stripe. A black stripe runs over the top of the head down to the neck. This black stripe has an individually different number of yellowish-white or pure white spots. The black stripe is framed by two white stripes that also run down to the neck. The ear covers, throat and chin are white, in some individuals the area is slightly spotted black. The back is black up to the upper tail-ceiling and has yellow longitudinal spots. The black control feathers are narrowly lined with yellow and white. The underside of the body is creamy-white, freshly moulted the breast looks slightly yellow. The beak is gray and becomes blackish towards the tip. The featherless skin around the eyes is gray, the eyes are dark to red-brown. The feet and legs are gray to black-brown.

The red-browed bearded bird is very similar to the diademed bearded beard, but the ranges of the two species do not overlap. The fiery- forehead bearded bird , which is also found in southern Africa, has a similar black and white plumage and a red forehead. However, this species is much smaller and has a much thinner beak. The dark throat distinguishes the red-fronted bearded bird from the miombo bearded bird . Both species are found in southwest Zambia and occasionally breed together.

Distribution area and habitat

The red-browed bearded bird is a bird that is common in places, its range extends from the north-west and south of Angola, the south-west of Zambia, Zimbabwe and the south-west of Mozambique to the south of the Republic of South Africa. Its distribution area is expanding in the southwest of the Cape region, as more and more exotic tree species are being planted here, the wood of which he can stretch so that he can build his nesting holes. In the west and south of its range it also occurs at sea level, but usually it occurs at altitudes between 400 and 1500 meters. Its habitat are open forest areas and arable land.

Way of life

The insects that the red-fronted bearded bird eats include beetles, wasps and grasshoppers. Fruits it ingests include those of the toothbrush tree and open pods of the Japanese pagoda tree .

The clutch consists of one to four eggs that are white-skinned. The breeding season is 14 to 16 days. Both parent birds breed and later care for the young birds. The nestling period is 35 days. The juveniles are independent at around 50 days of age.

supporting documents

literature

  • Lester L. Short, Jennifer FM Horne: Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides - Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-854666-1

Single receipts

  1. ↑ a b Short et al., P. 181
  2. ↑ Short et al., P. 180
  3. ↑ a b Short et al., P. 182
  4. ↑ Short et al., P. 183

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