NESTING BEHAVIOUR of the COPPERSMITH BARBET - a Brief Study Project Overview

KEY POINTS • Size: Sparrow (+-)

• Field Characters: Heavy-billed, grass green colour, crimson breast and forehead, yellow-throat, green streaked yellowish underparts

• Call: A loud and monotonous, consistent ringing “tuk-tuk” in long runs. Similar to the sound of a coppersmith hammering on his metal

• Food: Fruits and Berries, ‘banyan’ and ‘peepal’ figs. Winged termites

• Nesting: January to June

• Eggs: 2-3

COPPERSMITH BARBET Psilopogon haemacephalus NESTING BEHAVIOUR OF THE COPPERSMITH BARBET - A Brief Study Project Overview

Details

• Species: Coppersmith Barbet

• Location: Pune, Maharashtra

• Duration: March to April

• Observation timings: Early mornings and late afternoons

• Records: Observations on daily basis. Records done every week

• Equipment Used: Nikon D5600 & Tamron 150-600mm + Tripod Observations • Week 1: The Barbet chick has a dull plumage and a whitish throat. The male and female do the feeding part simultaneously (Most of the times female). Beak is not developed.

• Week 2: The chick has developed brighter colours than before and voluntarily gives a call to its parents for food. Breast spots have developed. Sex differentiation not possible yet.

• Week 3: The chick’s beak is sharper and the instinct to peck is more rigorous. Incidents like pecking the parents’ stomach, pulling off feathers can be seen more often. Voluntarily calls for food. OBSERVATIONS

• Week 4: The chick has developed a faint whitish cap on its head. Will develop red colour after maturity. Still not sure of the gender. No more calls to its parents. No indication of flight training yet.

• Week 5: Colours have developed faintly. Not able to distinguish the sex. Peeps out of the hole and tries to come out and hang on the branch.

• Week 6: No activity was spotted at the nest. Fledging period seems to be over. The female keeps returning to the nest hole. No sign of the chick for next few days.

Highlights

• Sexual dimorphism is possible in Coppersmith Barbets • Its difficult to identify the sex if the bird is seen as an individual • Difference in sexes can be observed if the pair is seen together • The male has brighter colours than the female (red cap and yellowish pattern on the breast) • The female also has a vivid red cap. However, the pattern downwards from the throat fades away to the chest unlike the male which has sharp patterns

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