White-cheeked barbet

The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet (Psilopogon viridis) is a species of barbet found in southern India. It is very similar to the more widespread brown-headed barbet (or large green barbet) (Psilopogon zeylanica) but this species has a distinctive supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye and is endemic to the forest areas of the Western Ghats and adjoining hills. The brown-headed barbet has an orange eye-ring but the calls are very similar and the two species occur together in some of the drier forests to the east of the Western Ghats. Like all other Asian barbets they are mainly frugivorous although they may sometimes eat insects and they use their bills to excavate nest cavities in trees. Bucco viridis was the scientific name proposed by Pieter Boddaert in 1783 for a green barbet that had been described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 based on a specimen collected in India. It was illustrated by François-Nicolas Martinet in a hand-coloured plate. It was placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1842 who suggested to use this name instead of Bucco.Its type locality has been fixed as Mahé, Puducherry in southwestern India. It is a monotypic species. In 2004, molecular phylogenetic research of barbets revealed that the Megalaima species form a clade, which also includes the fire-tufted barbet, the only species placed in the genus Psilopogon at the time. Asian barbets were therefore reclassified under the genus Psilopogon. Results of a phylogenetic study of Asian barbets published in 2013 indicate that the white-cheeked barbet is most closely related to the yellow-fronted barbet (P. flavifrons), which is endemic to Sri Lanka. The white-cheeked barbet is 16.5–18.5 cm (6.5–7.3 in) in length. It has a brownish head streaked with white, sometimes giving it a capped appearance. The bill is pale pinkish. Size varies from the larger northern birds to the southern ones. Like many other barbets of Asia, white-cheeked barbets are green, sit still, and perch upright making them difficult to spot. During the breeding season which begins at the start of summer their calls become loud and constant especially in the mornings. The call, a monotonous Kot-roo ... Kotroo... starting with an explosive trrr is not easily differentiated from that of the brown-headed barbet. During hot afternoons, they may also utter a single note wut not unlike the call of collared scops owl or coppersmith barbet. Other harsh calls are produced during aggressive encounters. The Indian ornithologist Salim Ali noted that some birds may call in the night during the breeding season, but this has been questioned by other observers such as K K Neelakantan who noted that these birds appear to be strictly diurnal. The main range is along the Western Ghats south from the Surat Dangs and along the associated hills of southern India into parts of the southern Eastern Ghats mainly in the Shevaroy and Chitteri Hills. In some areas such as in the city of Bangalore, it has been suggested that this species may have displaced the brown-headed barbet which was once said to occur there.