Black-girdled Barbet

Overview

The black-girdled barbet (Capito dayi) is a species of bird in the family Capitonidae. It is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to its dependence on mature forest and ongoing deforestation in its range.

Identification

• Approximately 18 cm long, with adult males featuring a scarlet crown and nape, black sides of the head, and brown throat, while females have a black crown and nape.
• Back is black, with white or off-white upper breasts merging to pale greenish yellow on the belly, and black flanks forming a distinct 'girdle' across the lower breast.
• Song consists of a steadily accelerating series of hollow boo notes, accompanied by calls such as 'rok rok ock ock' and a peculiar grating rattle.

Habitat

Found in southern Amazonia, specifically in southeastern Amazonas, most of southern Pará, the northwestern half of Mato Grosso, and eastern Rondônia in Brazil, with a slight extension into the Santa Cruz Department of northeastern Bolivia. It inhabits the canopy of evergreen terra firme and várzea forests, as well as adjacent mature secondary forest.

Diet

The diet includes both fruit and arthropods, though little else is known about its feeding habits. Specific foraging behavior has not yet been described.

Did you know?

The species was briefly considered a subspecies of the black-spotted barbet before DNA data revealed it to be the sister species to the five-colored barbet.