Brown-headed Barbet
Psilopogon zeylanicus
Silhouette: Vijay Cavale (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyMegalaimidae (Asian Barbets)
- GenusPsilopogon (Typical Asian Barbets)
- SpeciesPsilopogon zeylanicus (Brown-headed Barbet)
About the Brown-headed Barbet
The brown-headed barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus) is an Asian barbet species native to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. The brown-headed barbet was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the puffbirds in the genus Bucco and coined the binomial name Bucco zeylanicus. Gmelin based his description on the "yellow cheeked barbet" that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the naturalist Peter Brown from a specimen collected in Sri Lanka. The brown-headed barbet is now one of 32 barbets placed in the genus Psilopogon that was introduced in 1836 by Salomon Müller.
Three subspecies are recognised: Psilopogon zeylanicus inornatus (Walden, 1870) – west India Psilopogon zeylanicus caniceps (Franklin, 1831) – Nepal to central India Psilopogon zeylanicus zeylanicus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) – south India and Sri Lanka The adult has a streaked brown head, neck and breast, and a yellow eye patch. The rest of the plumage is green. It is 27 cm (11 in) long with a large head, short neck... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Brown-headed Barbet in Minneriya National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Minneriya National Park
Coppersmith Barbet
Psilopogon haemacephalus
Crimson-fronted Barbet
Psilopogon rubricapillus
Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback
Dinopium psarodes
Crimson-backed Flameback
Chrysocolaptes stricklandi
Brown-capped Woodpecker
Yungipicus nanus
Rufous Woodpecker
Micropternus brachyurus
White-naped Woodpecker
Chrysocolaptes festivus
Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
Leiopicus mahrattensis
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 10 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 13 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Brown-headed Barbet in Minneriya National Park?
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Barbet sighting in Minneriya National Park, based on 143 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Brown-headed Barbet in Minneriya National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Brown-headed Barbet in Minneriya National Park in our monthly data.