Brown-headed Barbet

A green and brown barbet with prominent pale streaks on its brown head and breast. The brown throat and green wings with white speckling on the shoulders are characteristic of this species. Also note the large area of dull yellow facial skin and the brown-yellow bill that both turn orange-red when breeding. Immature is similar but duller. Heard more often than seen. Several calls exist, but the most common call is similar to the White-cheeked Barbet’s “kutrook-kutrook-kutrook,” but it is more mellow, sonorous, and less sharp sounding. Generally prefers drier woodlands compared to White-cheeked Barbet though they co-occur in many localities.

In Sri Lanka, the Brown-headed Barbet primarily inhabits dry and moist deciduous forests, particularly in the dry zone, often found near human settlements in parks, gardens, and even within cities, where it readily adapts to wooded areas around urban environments; it is a common sight throughout the island nation.

In Sri Lanka, the Brown-headed Barbet primarily eats a diet of fruits, including mangoes, ripe jackfruit, papaya, banana, figs, and other cultivated fruits, making it largely frugivorous; it may occasionally eat insects as well, but its main food source is fruit from trees in gardens and wooded areas.