Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala

Common Name : Coppersmith barbet.
Binomial Name : Megalaima haemacephala
Family : Megalaimidae
Bengali Name : Boshonto Bouri (বসন্ত বৌরি), Boshontobouri (বসন্তবৌরি).
Photo Taken : Bangladesh



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet is a small but very common bird from Bangladesh. This colorful bird is native to Indian subcontinent and the East Asian region. In Bangladesh we call this bird as Boshonto Bouri (বসন্তবৌরি), Sekra Boshonto, etc. Its binomial name is Megalaima haemacephala, and it belongs to the family Megalaimidae.


Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) is a very beautiful and colorful bird. The upper portion of the bird including the wings, back, and tail is green. The breast and belly of the bird is faded green with heavily streaked with green. That's why it seems like a green bird. This bird's neck is shorter and the head is colorful. It has a red forehead, after that it is slightly black, and then the green head. The eye has a black line and either side of the line are having a small patch of yellow color. The throat is yellow, after that a red patch and then a yellowish green patch. The beak is black and large enough compare to the size of the bird. Coppersmith barbet has large mustache around the base of the beak.


Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) is a fruit eating bird. That's why it is mostly seen around the trees which are having fruits. The Banyan tree is their common foraging area during its fruiting season. They use to forage alone or with a pair most of the time. Apart from the fruits it also takes insect like beetle, cricket, etc.


Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



The call of the bird is tuk-tuk-tuk which is similar to the beating of a copper smith. That's why it is named as Coppersmith barbet. Their cal can be heard from a long distance. They can produce around 110-120 tuk calls per minute. It just keep calling and calling which is sometime monotonous. The beak remains closed during the calling and this bird does not call at all during the winter.


Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) builds their nest on the holes of a tree. The female mainly excavates the hole on a soft or dead portion of a tree, and later both male and female use to modify/clear the nest. They also use the nest for roosting.


Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala
A Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) is eating a ripe fruit.



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala
A Coppersmith barbet is cleaning its beak on a branch.



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala
Notice the long mustache around the base of the beak.



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala
The streaked line with heavy green is visible on front.



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Coppersmith barbet - Megalaima haemacephala



Photos of Coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) were taken from Bangladesh as follows:
1) December 2014: Keraniganj, Dhaka.
2) February 2015: High court, Dhaka.
3) February 2015: Mirpur Beribadh, Dhaka.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/



Comments