Listen to the Toucan barbet
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Toucan barbet
The Toucan barbet is a bird in the family Semnornithidae (order Piciformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “near threatened”. Adults weigh around 98 g.
What does the Toucan barbet sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The toucan barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus) is a barbet native to western Ecuador and Colombia. Along with the prong-billed barbet, it forms the family Semnornithidae, and is closely related to the toucans. It is a medium-sized barbet with a robust yellow bill. It has striking plumage, having a black head with grey throat and nape, red breast and upper belly, yellow lower belly and grey wings and tail.
The toucan barbet is native to humid montane forests, where it occupies all levels of the canopy and is found in both primary and secondary forests, as well as forest edges. It is social, living in small family groups which work together to defend their territories and raise the chicks communally. It feeds on fruit and a range of animal prey, with insects being an important part of the diet of chicks. It sometimes joins mixed-species feeding flocks. Chicks are raised in cavities dug into large, usually dead trees.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Toucan barbet sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Toucan barbet on this page, including its call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the Toucan barbet endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Toucan barbet as “near threatened”.
What family does the Toucan barbet belong to?
The Toucan barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus) belongs to the family Semnornithidae in the order Piciformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q592956 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Toucan barbet – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Michael Woodruff from Spokane, Washington, USA – CC BY 2.0