Blue Throated Barbet

(Megalaima asiatica)

(Blue Throated Barbet near Palampur)

Size(22-23cm): It is a medium-sized Barbet, a bit smaller than the Brown-Headed Barbet.

Area: Only Himalayas of India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Habitat: They can be found simply anywhere in the Himalayas.

My two words: I cannot call this bird a ‘common sighting’ but at the same place cannot be called ‘rare’. In my 10 year experience, I’ve seen this bird only once or twice.

(Blue Throated Barbet in Taragarh Palace near Palampur)

It is a grass-green Barbet with a blue cheek, throat, and chin. It has some red on the head with some black and yellow. There are small crimson-red spots on the sides of the throat. The bill is bulky and yellowish-grey with a blackish tip.

Solitary or sometimes in pairs. 

The nest is mostly a hole in a tree where the eggs, usually 3-4 in number, are laid.

(Blue Throated Barbet in Taragarh Palace near Palampur)

This species is found only in the Indian Subcontinent. They are purely arboreal and stay on trees whole of their life. Their Conservation Status is ‘LC’ (Least Concern) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Like other Barbets, they are mostly frugivorous and feed mainly on figs and other fruits but can sometimes take to insects.

~Arjun Basandrai