Bird of the month of February || Vibrant Barbets

The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Portrait of the Great Barbet
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes.


The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Blue-throated Barbet
The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Great Barbet

And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Blue-throated Barbet

Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Coppersmith Barbet

One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar?

The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Coppersmith Barbet

The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. 



Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call.



The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. 




The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Portrait of a Blue-throated Barbet 
Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Blue-throated Barbet


Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Great Barbet in Dalhousie

And then this month we seemed to have made the full circle. We saw the first Barbet we had ever seen again. The Great Barbet made another appearance behind our home. It too was attracted by the ripe Lonku fruits that lay scattered near the stream that flows behind our home. 
The word Barbet is comparatively new in my vocabulary. I came across it about two years back when I happened to spot a large colorful bird on the banks of the little stream that flows behind our house in Himachal. I managed to click a very bad picture of it, and somehow one of our much more learned friends was able to identify it despite the bad shot. The bird turned out to be the Great Barbet. And since then, somehow we keep coming across Barbets of different colors, shapes, and sizes. The best thing about Barbets is that you spend a large part of your life being unaware of their existence, but once you learn about them, you see them everywhere. And you see different varieties of them. And that is the reason why Barbets are our bird for the month of February. This is the time when your start getting a hint of the spring.You see new buds on plants, a hint of green where there was frozen ground. So in a way you are sensing the spring before really seeing it. Same goes for Barbets. You often hear them much before you actually see them. And if you are like us, you probably know the sound, but would not realize that it belongs to one of the most beautiful bird you are ever going to see. Barbets get their names from the bristles around their large beaks. Almost all barbets are bright and colorful and, therefore, are sometimes caged as pets. Barbets have heavy heads and plump bodies. However, the species is adaptable and resilient and at present none of the Asian species are threatened. One of the barbets that I have special love for is the Brown-headed Barbet. This bird is commonly found all over Delhi and you can often hear its call echoing during the day. The fact that a pair of brown-headed barbets lives on the peepal tree right behind our house makes them all the more special. Following is an audio I found on the Internet that records the Brown-headed Barbet's call. Does it sound familar? The other barbet that we saw is the Coppersmith Barbet. This tiny little colorful bird is widespread all across India, but we saw it in Ayuthhaya. Thailand. The Barbet is so called because its call is similar to the sound a coppersmith makes when striking a piece of metal with a hammer. At one glance, this bird looks like a woodpecker and it also behaves like one, pecking away on tree trunks. Click this to listen to the Coppersmith Barbet's call. The Coppersmith Barbet has a crimson patch on its forehead and another one on its throat, and that is why it is also known as the crimson-headed barbet. It has a yellow eye-patch and the rest of its body is green and yellow. Compared to the Great Barbet, the Coppersmith Barbet is really tiny. A little aside about barbets is that the tiniest of barbets are known as Tinkerbirds and are only found in Africa. The next Barbet we chanced upon was during one of our recent visits to Himachal Pradesh. We spotted a bright blue and green bird feasting upon the Lonku (Chayote) fruit growing on a vine my father-in-law had planted. As this barbet also had a crimson patch on its forehead, I first thought it was a Coppersmith Barbet. However, this bird was much bigger. Some search on the Internet revealed that it was the Blue-throated Barbet. Throughout our stay the only activity we saw this bird do was eating. And it made absolutely zero noise. Another observation was that this was a really restless bird and wouldn't stay at a single place for more than a few seconds. It would keep hopping to higher branches till it got out of the range of our basic camera and then relax. It would keep sitting there for hours, out in full view, keeping absolutely still. But yes, just out of the range of our camera. Though the Blue-throated Barbets behind our home did not delight us with their calls, we know from our observations of Barbets that these aren't by nature quiet creatures. So I searched the internet again and got this video from youtube. You will notice that all Barbets sound different but their repeated calls have the same pattern.
Great Barbet at our First Sighting
This time we managed to capture it in our camera. The bird is much more beautiful in reality though. This is really the largest Barbet you can find, and it sports all the colors Barbets are famous for - a little bit of green, a bit of blue, some purple, orange, yellow and also red. And here is a recording of its call. 

This is our special post for our favorite bird - the Barbets. To find out about the bird we will be talking about next, i.e. in the month of March, please read our introduction to the series - Bird of the month - year 2020. 

Related Blogposts -

As winter approaches North India, various wetlands start seeing thousands of Migratory Birds and Bharatpur's Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary is one of the most popular wetlands around National Capital region of India and hence sees lot of tourists from Delhi/Noida/Gurgaon region. And it's not limited to nearby tourists. Lot of serious birders visit Bharatpur during Winters from various parts of the country as well as foreigner tourists. This blog-post shares tips to plan a successful trip to Bharatpur from Delhi and what kind of things to take care while planning this birding trip. One day Road-Trip to Bharatpur Birds Sanctuary from Delhi : Winters Special
























We were definitely fortunate when it comes to the number of Herons and Egrets we were able to sight during our visit to the Keoladeo National Park in November. However, at that time, we did not know which was which. These two birds are so similar when it comes to their behavior that it takes an expert to identify them separately. We referred to our birding companion - A Pictorial Field Guide to Birds of India. However, I am sure we have made some mistakes in case of a few birds. In case you can spot any, please do point them out. We would be eternally grateful. Great Egrets.Both Herons and Egrets, and also the Bitterns, belong to the family Ardeidae. Though some argue that these are actually same birds with the only differences being that Egrets usually have white or buff plumage and develop distinctive white plumes during the breeding season. Otherwise, both these birds seek the same kind of habitat - wetlands. They breed in trees close to the wetlands, and they fly with their necks retracted, unlike storks and cranes who fly with their necks outstretched. Grey Heron in Flight. Experts are still undecided about what makes a heron, a heron and an egret, an egret. So much so that though these birds are classified under separate genera - Ardea and Egretta - the only marked difference in the definition of these genera is the size. Ardea consists of larger of the Herons whereas Egretta consists of the smaller ones. Though the size difference is often indistinct. Both the birds typically have a large wingspan and look very graceful in flight. Great Egret in Flight. You will often see these birds standing still with one leg raised and their necks outstretched carefully watching out for prey to come close enough so that they can snap it up with a quick movement of their neck and beaks. These birds are carnivorous and feed mainly on fish, frogs, lizards, and molluscs. Some herons, such as the cattle egret, often move away from the wetlands and follow cattle. These egrets feed on the insects that are disturbed by the movement of cattle in bushes. Juvenile Purple Heron(?) in the foreground with Great Egrets in the Distance. Another aspect that is unique about Herons is that they have powder down. These peculiar down feathers that often disintegrate into a powdery substance are thought to be of special significance to these birds because of their wet habitat and damp surroundings. It is also believed that these birds use the powder to preen and coat the feathers that cover the rest of their body. It is supposed to protect these feathers from slime and dirt. Purple Heron. It took us a while to associate these tall, graceful birds with the little cattle egrets we are used to seeing in the city. Initially I thought that these were cranes. However, when upon further research I discovered that though cranes and herons may look alike at a glance, they are indeed two very different birds. While Herons belong to the order Pelecaniformes, Cranes are part of the Gruiformes order. Unlike Herons who hold their necks in an "S" shape and completely retract them during flight, cranes old their necks straight. Herons have longer beaks and necks than cranes, though cranes typically are bigger in size. Indian Pond Heron. We were unfortunately not able to spot any cranes during our visit to Keoladeo. Cranes that are supposed to flock in Keoladeo during winters are Siberian Crane, Sarus Crane, Demoiselle Crane, and Common Crane. Of these, Siberian Crane does not visit India any more. A single pair of these critically endangered birds was last seen in Keoladeo National Park in 2002. Since then there is no recorded sighting of these birds in India. This is sad. If you think you have seen a Siberian crane during your visit to Keoladeo National Park, you are either mistaken or unbelievably fortunate and on the verge of being famous. Grey Heron keeping company with Black-Headed and Glossy Ibises. Herons and Egrets keep company with other water birds such as ducks, coots, waterhens etc. You will often spot one or two individuals standing tall among a flock of other smaller birds. In the above photograph, a grey heron is seen peacefully existing with the much smaller ibises. The ibises in this picture are the black-necked Ibis and the Glossy Ibis, which are often mistaken as white Ibis and Black Ibis, respectively. Though the black-necked Ibis is nearly threatened, they were a common sight in Keoladeo National Park. Grey Heron up close. The dotted line running down then neck of a grey heron creates an illusion of stitch marks and you may be forgiven if you confuse the bird with a stuff toy. From a distance and also at various stages of this heron's life, it may resemble the Great Egret quite a bit. However, two of the most distinctive identifying characteristics of the Egret are its dark legs and yellow beaks, which are also almost always easily identifiable from a distance, unless the legs are hidden behind the bushes or under water. Juvenile Cinnamon Bittern. A smaller member of the Ardeidae family, the bittern is classified into a separate subfamily Botaurinae. Typically smaller than the other herons, bitterns also exhibit slightly different behavior patterns. Bitterns are smaller and plumper than a typical Heron. They also have shorter necks, though they too can retract and elongate their necks. Unlike Herons who patiently wait for their prey to wander close enough, bitterns, and also pond herons, at times are known to chase down their prey. This kind of active hunting is not seen in other Herons. The bittern seen above has a similar plumage to the Indian Pond Heron (scroll up to see), but has a cinnamon colored underbelly as opposed to a white one in the pond heron. Grey Heron with Cattle Egret (?). In the photograph above, you can see a Grey Heron in close vicinity of a cattle egret. While structurally, both the birds seem similar, there are clear differences that can help you distinguish one from the other. While the Heron (on the left) has light-colored legs, the egret has darker, almost black, legs. Also, the beak in case of a Heron is pinkish, whereas an egret has a yellow beak. Both these birds, in the photograph above, are quite interested in something that is happening on their left. Intermediate Egret (?). This looks like a cattle egret though I cannot be sure. It's neck is too short for a great egret, though admittedly the bird looks a bit bigger than the egrets we see in the city. So may be it is an intermediate Egret. I will leave it to the experts to judge. However, such a picture of an egret standing still at the edge of water looks deceptively peaceful. I also found out what is known as the bagula in India (bagula bhagat for its unique habit of standing with one leg folded) is the same bird as the Great Egret. Purple Heron with Great Egret in the distance. Here are two of the larger birds in the same frame. The bird in the foreground is the purple heron and the one in the far distance is the great egret. You can see the thick "S" shaped neck of the Great Egret, while the purple heron up close has a slender neck, though this bird too can retract its neck when it so feels like. We were really grateful to spot these graceful birds in their natural habitat. The Keoladeo National Park is one of the very few walled wetlands where migratory and resident birds are safe from human interference. Cattle Egret. The sheer variety of birds at Keoladeo National Park is overwhelming. More than 400 different species have been observed here. Of those, we were only able to see a handful. At the time, we thought some of these herons and egrets and storks were migratory, but it turns out that they are all resident. The only migratory birds we saw were the smaller ones. The park is already lively, and I wonder how much more lively it would be once the migratory birds arrive. Anyhow, I think February would be a good time for another visit.
Juvenile Purple Heron(?) in the foreground with Great Egrets in the Distance

Herons and Egrets at Keoladeo National Park || Waterbirds and Waders at Bharatpur











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