“I must say that the call of the Fire-tufted Barbet (Psilopogon pyrolophus) is rather unusual, it sounds like a cicada buzzing away. This bird is quite common up in Malaysia’s Frasers’ Hill and some have considered this to be one of the star birds that can be found in Frasers’ Hill.”
KC Tsang
Singapore
17th August 2010
Note: According to Robson (2008), “the male territorial call is an unusually cicada-like buzzing, starting with spaced notes, then speeding up and rising in pitch towards the end.” From the above video, it is noted that the barbet has its bill closed all the time when making its call. The only visible sign that it is calling is the slight puffing around the throat area, especially towards the end on the track.
Reference:
Robson, C., 2008. A field guide to the birds of South-east Asia. New Holland, London. 544 pp.
“Tambun is a small town on the outskirts of Ipoh that has, in the past 10 years, been engulfed by the city. Now considered a suburban area with large properties and garden.
“Came across this sprawling Ficus benjamina that was fruiting extensively. Full of ‘common’ birds feeding together. There was some minor conflict, but generally enough food to keep everyone busy.
“I have grouped the birds seen over a two hour period into three groups as below:
“Birds seen feeding on Ficus benjamina ‘fruits’:
1. Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans): 4-6 (2-3 pairs) (above left).
2. Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis maculates): 10-12, 2-3 were juvenile feeding independently (above centre).
3. Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis strigata): a flock (more like a swarm) (above right).
4. Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier analis): 6-8 (mostly adult pairs) (below left).
5. Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala indica): 4-5, 3 were juvenile feeding independently (below centre).
6. Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata hodgsoni): one pair.
7. Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius madoci) feeding on fallen ‘fruits’ – they forage on the ground and do not seem to pick ‘fruits’ off the tree.
“Birds suspected to feeding on Ficus benjamina ‘fruits’:
1. Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis tristis): one pair, seen checking out ‘fruits’ in tree, actual feeding not seen (above right).
2. Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica): one adult noted in tree but not seen feeding, flew off soon after I came.
3. Peaceful Dove (Geopelia striata) – seen picking on old ‘fruits’ that had dropped on to the pavement below (below left).
“Birds using the Ficus benjamina ‘fruits’ feeding frenzy to get other animal prey:
1. Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia horizoptera) – one pair foraging for caterpillars (above centre).
2. Pied Triller (Lalage nigra striga) – one male foraging for animal prey (above right).”
[The above images show the Coppersmith Barbet's feeding behaviour - pecking off a piece from a fig and then taking the remainder between its mandibles to squash it before swallowing.]
The 15 year old, 8 m high albizia tree (Paraserianthes falcataria) on the grounds of Sun Chong Hong’s condo has been the nesting site for many generations of Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala indica).
“Recently, there were nesting activities again. On 12 Apr I saw a new nesting hole with a barbet at the entrance. To record progress, I used my camera on tripod placed near the nest, recording whatever activities around the nest hole between 9.30 to10 am daily. This was the best time in terms of lighting condition, weather permitting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqJ70pGPlxg
“From the videos, I saw the growth of the chick from waiting to be fed to aggressively grabbing food and pecking of adults’ body when the parents arrived. The chick’s call, which I have never heard before, was recorded right before my eyes when I saw its throat pulsating in tandem with the sound. Before that, I thought it was made by an unknown bird in the vicinity. There were other interesting episodes, such as the appearance of starlings, pigeon, lizards and flies on the scene. Feeding sessions were fast and furious, mostly completed in matter of seconds. But in one unusual one, it took almost two minutes. It appeared that the fruit being fed to the chick was quite big and the adult wanted to make sure that it was positioned properly close to the chick’s throat before releasing it.
“I have edited the videos, recorded between 12 Apr and 19 Jun this year, to make a complete nesting story of the Coppersmith Barbet. This is an amateur’s attempt to do a National Geographic.You are cordially invited to view the nesting story, split into two parts because of the length,
“The story was edited with videos taken between 12 Apr and 19 Jun 2010, almost daily around 9.30 to 10 am, weather permitting and when the lighting was most favourable.
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R65ztRR8Fck&feature=channel
“The chick grows healthily and appears to be ready to leave the nest …
“There was one observation not recorded in the video. I saw wood chips on the ground below the tree even as the chick grew. This led me to think that the barbets continued to enlarge the nest as the chick/s grew. However, later on I noticed that the Asian Glossy Starlings were at the rotting sections of this tree looking for parasites. They were chipping away the wood.
“There is a free multimedia player, namely vlc player, which enables video to be watched in slow motion, down to 1/4 speed or even screen by screen. With this player, you can download the Youtube video and watch the feedings in slow motion.
“PS This tree was featured in my earlier video on Asian Glossy Starlings catching alate termites/ants.”
“It is rare to encounter the exact fledging moment of a nesting chick. To witness one emits a joy similar to that of watching your baby walking her first step. I had the joy of watching the fledging of a Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) chick.
“This was the same Coppersmith Barbet chick that was observed with the strange behaviour posted earlier. There was hearsay from other photographers that there were actually two chicks seen in this nesting. However, one chick seemed to disappear 3 weeks after the first known sighting. What happened to the missing chick continued to be a mystery. The remaining chick fledged about 2 weeks after that. Hence, it can be deduced that this chick had probably spent more than 5 weeks in its nest.
“On the day of fledging, a Sunday, the parents were, as usual, making sorties to deliver food to feed their chick (left). The feeding had slowed down considerably to as long as 20 minutes intervals. The chick continued its usual behaviour - checking out the surroundings by extending its head and peeping out from its nesting cavity from time to time.
“At about 10 am, the chick suddenly pushed itself out of its nesting cavity. It had fledged and commenced its maiden flight! And what a flight it was! As it shot out from its nest, it made a fast about-turn with wings flapping furiously before flying about 50 metres into a small tree. After weeks of confinement in its nest, the moment had arrived for the chick to free itself and explore the world.
“It happened so quickly that I was caught off-guard and could only watch helplessly as it flew away. I hurried to where I thought the fledgling had landed, quite certain that it was in the dense foliage. However, after searching for 15 minutes, there was still no sign of the fledgling. Its green plumage had indeed blended well with the foliage and provided good camouflage.
“I was about to give up and was walking away when the fledgling surprised me again, flying past in my direction at only 2 metres away, and at a low height of 2 metres. The flapping of its wings was fast and continuous, but its flight was slow. This time, its flight lasted for about 20 metres. I managed to pinpoint its landing spot on a low perch under a cluster of trees (below left).
“It stayed on the perch quietly preening itself, stretching its wings, and looking around (above right). There was a pinkish patch on its crown that could now be clearly seen - it was flesh that was exposed due to lack of feathers. This bald patch had also shown up in my earlier photographs taken a week earlier. Parts of its body were similarly showing some pinkish flesh underneath its sparse feathers. Its feathers were probably still not fully developed. The fledgling remained there for about 20 minutes without making any calls. The adults were nowhere in sight, but must be anxiously looking for their missing offspring. Though fledged, the parents’ tasks ahead will be just as difficult. The fledgling will be most vulnerable at this stage and the parents will have to teach, guide, and lead the fledgling on its new journey in life.
“I realised that I was already late to fetch my daughter from her class and had to perform my own duty as parent. Reluctantly, I had to say goodbye to the fledgling. I did not have the luxury of time to wait and see its reunion with its parents.
“One week later I returned to the area. I can hear the familiar soft monotonous calls that I recognised as from the juvenile Coppersmith Barbet. I tried to look for it but its camouflage proved too good for me. I am glad just knowing the fledgling had survived its first week in its new environment.”
On 27th February 2010, Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS documented a Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata hodgsoni) at his neighbourhood in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia feeding on the fruits of a Fishtail Palm (Caryota mitis). The barbet visited the palm daily to feed on the fruits.
Other birds that also fed on the fruits were the Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) and the Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans).
"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world,
but when you're finished,
you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird...
So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing - that's what counts.
I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."
Nobel Laureate Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988)
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