barbet

The barbet digs nest holes in termite mounds and rotten tree-stumps with its large and often sharp-toothed beak. It may also take up residence in old woodpecker holes.

Small, tropical bird, often brightly coloured. There are about 78 species of barbet in the family Capitonidae, order Piciformes, common to tropical Africa, Asia, and America. Barbets eat insects and fruit and, being distant relations of woodpeckers, drill nest holes with their beaks. The name comes from the ‘little beard’ of bristles about the mouth that assists them in catching insects.