Great Barbet

(Megalaima virens)

(Great Barbet at Sarahan)

Size(32-35cm): It is the largest of all Barbets.

Area: Himalayas except Northern Jammu and Kashmir.

Habitat: They can be found anywhere in the Himalayan region.

My two words: It is a plumpy Barbet with a large yellow bill. It has a glossy bluish-black head. The belly is green and yellow while the back and breast are brown. It also has a red vent. The remaining body is green.

Solitary for most of the time. Both the sexes are alike. The immature birds are also more or less like the adult birds.

They breed in lower and middle Himalayas. They usually nest between April-June. The nest is a hole in a tree where the eggs are laid. Parental duties are done by both the sexes. 

This species of Barbets is found in India and in East till about Laos and Cambodia.

They feed chiefly on fruits and figs but may sometimes feed on insects.

(Great Barbet feeding)

Its call, peeho-peeho, seems like it is mourning over something.

Not a common sighting but also not a rare one.

~Arjun Basandrai