Megalimidae – Asian Barbets

The Megalaimidae are a Piciformes family of birds comprising the Asian barbets. They were once lumped in with all barbets in the family Capitonidae, but the Old-World species have been found to be distinctive and are considered, along with the Lybiidae (African Barbets), Capitonidae (New World Barbets), Semnornithidae (Toucan Barbets), Ramphastidae (Toucans), Indicatoridae (Honeyguides) and Picidae (Woodpeckers) as sister groups. There are currently 35 species recognised, living in the forests of the Indo-Malayan region from Tibet to Indonesia. Their diversity is concentrated around the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; it is therefore probable that the family originated there or thereabouts.

Green-eared Barbet Psilopogon faiostrictus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

They are usually plump-looking, with large heads, and heavy bills fringed with bristles. The Great Barbet, at 210g and 33cm is the largest of the species, and among its relatives is only surpassed in size by some of the toucans.

Lineated Barbet Psilopogon lineatus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Asian barbets are usually birds of the inner forest. One species, the Coppersmith Barbet, has adapted to life on the forest edge and in scrub. They are mainly solitary birds, eating insects and fruit. Figs of the genus Ficus are the most important fruit taken. Large fig trees will attract several species of barbet along with other frugivores. In addition to figs, numerous other species of fruiting tree and bush are visited; an individual barbet may feed on as many as 60 different species in its range. They will also visit plantations and take cultivated fruit and vegetables. Fruit is eaten whole and indigestible material such as seed pits regurgitated later (often before singing). Unlikr toucans, regurgitation does not usually happen in the nest. Barbets are thought to be important agents in seed dispersal in tropical forests.

Crimson-fronted Barbet Psilopogon rubricapillus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

As well as taking fruit, barbets also take arthropod prey, gleaned from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide range on insects are taken, including ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, beetles, moths and mantids. Scorpions and centipedes are also taken, and a few species will take small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs and geckos.

The precise nesting details of many species are not yet known. Like many members of the order Piciformes, their nests are in holes bored into a tree, and they usually lay between 2 and 4 eggs, incubated for 13 to 15 days.

Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

There is generally not much interaction between Asian barbets and humans. Some species, such as the Great Barbet and the Lineated Barbet, will raid plantations and orchards, particularly in India, and there is some capture for the cage-bird trade due to their attractive coloration. Some species will frequent parks and large gardens.

Although none of the Asian barbets are considered threatened, several species are known to be intolerant of deforestation and require old-growth forest to thrive. For example, in Singapore only the second-growth-tolerant Red-crowned Barbet remains of the species originally found there, as well as the Coppersmith Barbet which has expanded its range and colonised Singapore in the 1960s.