Acacia Pied barbet
- Tricholaema leucomelas
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
- Trend: increasing
General Information
The acacia pied barbet or pied barbet (Tricholaema leucomelas) is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae which is native to southern Africa.
Description
The acacia pied barbet has dark brown eyes and blackish legs and feet. It has a black-and-white striped head with a red front and forecrown and pale yellow superciliary stripe. It has a black bib under the chin, with a white breast and underparts in the drier land subspecies T. l. centralis. The breast and underparts are more dusky and streaky in the southerly nominate subspecies, and more yellowish in the easterly T. l. affinis. The sexes are similar in appearance. Juvenile birds lack the red mark on the forehead, and have the underpart plumage more streaky.
Ecology and Behaviour
The acacia pied barbet is a sedentary but fairly restless species that occurs in pairs or singly. Its flight is fast and direct.
Diet
The acacia pied barbet has been observed taking fruit from various trees and shrubs, such as Ficus, Searsia and Phoenix reclinata, as well as Aloe nectar and insects.
Reproduction
The acacia pied barbet drills holes into dead wood to create cavity nests, like most other barbets and woodpeckers. It lays two to four eggs from August to April, and both sexes incubate the eggs.
Conservation
It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as, ” Least Concern “.
Distribution and Habitat
It primarily inhabits semi-arid savanna, as well as grassland, fynbos, agricultural areas and urban gardens, which it did not inhabit formerly. With the introduction of alien vegetation, especially Racosperma species from Australia, to regions bordering its original range, this species has been able to expand its range to these otherwise unreachable areas.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, eastern Eswatini, western Lesotho, southern Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, southern Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
References
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- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Piciformes
- Family: Lybiidae
- Genus: Tricholaema
