Bird Album
Chinese Barbet
Psilopogon faber (Swinhoe, 1870)
20–25 cmLength88 gWeight
This plump bird is broadly green from the neck back, with a red patch at the back of its black crown and a yellow throat.
Busiest months: January and March–April · Most records: China
Looks like Taiwan Barbet
How to identify
Field marks
- Black crown with a red patch at the rear
- Yellow chin and throat
- Cyan-blue to indigo ear-coverts
- Narrow blue-black breast band adjoining a broad red band
Male, female and young
No obvious difference in appearance between the sexes.
Voice
A loud call consisting of a rapid, monotonous series of croaking notes.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Chinese Barbet has been recorded at 86 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Jianfengling NNRChina533 records
- Tai Po Kau Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)360 records
- Jianfengling NNR – Mingfenggu LoopChina82 records
More places
- Fengyang Mountain NNRChina72 records
- Tai Lam Country ParkHong Kong (China)70 records
- Kadoorie Farm and Botanic GardenHong Kong (China)58 records
- Dinghu Mountain NNRChina52 records
- Nanling NNR [Ruyang Area]China50 records
- Bawangling NNRChina43 records
- Jianfengling NNR – NanyaChina39 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The Chinese barbet (Psilopogon faber) is a bird in the family Megalaimidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1870. It is endemic to southern China.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Chinese Barbet?
The Chinese Barbet is about 20–25 cm long and weighs around 88 g.
Where does the Chinese Barbet live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: southern China and Hainan. It is most often recorded in China.
When is the best time to see the Chinese Barbet?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, March and April (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Chinese Barbet endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Chinese Barbet as Least Concern.
What does the Chinese Barbet eat?
Main food: Fruit.
What family is the Chinese Barbet in?
It belongs to the family Asian Barbets (Megalaimidae), order Piciformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 20–25 cm
- Weight
- 88 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Fruit
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 103 mm
- Tail
- 64 mm
- Bill
- 24 mm
- Tarsus
- 25 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: southern China and Hainan
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 2
- Psilopogon faber sini s China
- Psilopogon faber faber Hainan I. (off se China)
Classification
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Asian Barbets Megalaimidae
- Genus
- Psilopogon
Other birds in the genus Psilopogon
Fire-tufted BarbetPsilopogon pyrolophus
Great BarbetPsilopogon virens
Red-vented BarbetPsilopogon lagrandieri
Brown-headed BarbetPsilopogon zeylanicus
Lineated BarbetPsilopogon lineatus
White-cheeked BarbetPsilopogon viridis
Green-eared BarbetPsilopogon faiostrictus
Brown-throated BarbetPsilopogon corvinus
Golden-whiskered BarbetPsilopogon chrysopogon
Red-crowned BarbetPsilopogon rafflesii
Red-throated BarbetPsilopogon mystacophanos
Black-banded BarbetPsilopogon javensis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Stephen Matthews. ↗
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