Most of us wake up to the shrill Ko-troo ... Ko-troo, sometimes starting with an explosive trrr, of the small green barbet or the white-cheeked barbet (Megalaima viridis) as summer comes to the city. The bird has bright green plumage and strange whiskers around its thickish beak. In the summer, barbets call continuously, especially in the morning, when the ficus trees are full of luscious ripe fruit. Barbets are mostly frugivorous and in Bangalore they are found in the Ficus benjamina and Ficus mysorensis which grow across the city.
However, they also enjoy winged termites and other insects when the opportunity arises.
“Barbets are fond of ficus fruits and I have seen most of the barbets in ficus trees when they are with fruit,” reveals Giby Kuriakose, who is a post-doctoral fellow with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. Seshadri K.S., who completed his post-graduation in ecology and is now an intern with the trust, shot these pictures on the big ficus tree in St Joseph's College Quadrangle, just off Double Road.
Very shy in spite of its raucous call, the bird sits very still amidst the branches of trees while feeding and it is difficult to spot, though most people are familiar with its call. Michelle Cherian, says, “I love the sound of the birds calling in the morning and often wondered what they looked like as I had no time to see the bird, only hear it, as I rushed out to work.”
The small green barbet is endemic to India and found mainly in South India. Its diet consists of insects and berries. Interestingly, the bird nests in hollows in trees and both sexes excavate the nest, which is usually a small chamber dug into a decaying upright tree trunk. Usually the female produces around five eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for around two weeks.
At the start of our Indian summer, which is their breeding season, their calls become loud and constant, especially in the mornings. Rajini Pandit, who lives in Richmond Town, often observes nesting barbets.
“We have a gulmohur (Delonix regia) and African tulip (Spathodea campanulata) on the pavement outside our apartment block, in Richmond Town, and the small green barbet has its nest holes in them. My sister, who visits from Dublin, finds them too loud and disturbing when she wants to sleep especially in the morning,” she laughs.
“Year after year they reuse the same nest hole in the same tree, though I don't know if they are the same pair using the hole. Once the chicks are hatched their calls become less frequent and loud, as the parent birds are busy feeding their young.”
So check out the bird in the picture and make it a point to try and spot barbets. A good time to look for them is in the cool of the morning.
Published - February 05, 2012 05:36 pm IST
