Crested or levaillant's Barbet By Dale R. Thompson, Lemon Cove, CA he Crested Barbet, Trachyphonus vaillantii, origi­ T nates from a large part of Africa. It ranges from Angola, Zambia, SE Zaire (now the Republic of Congo), Tanzania south to Nambia, Botswana and the eastern part of South Africa. In modern references the Crested Barbet is being referred to as the Levaillant's Barbet. There is an excellent photo­ graph of this barbet depicted in Martin Vince's book Softbills-Care, Breeding Before entering and Conservation. andfeeding the The Levaillant's Barbet was quite youngster, the common in the zoological world in the adults would land on the entrance past decade, but since it has not been hole ofa large placed on a SSP or TAG program it is smooth-trunked not receiving the attention given to log that was origi­ birds who are listed on the programs. nally usedfor a Toco Toucan The International Species Identification System (lSIS), March 1997, records show 7.6.17 (7 male, 6 females and 17 unknowns) with no listed hatchings. It is very important that the private sector work with this species and work toward establishing it in captivity. Barbets originate from Africa, Asia and Indonesia, and Central and South America and belong to a wide range of genera. All are tunnel nesters and will most often utilize an abandoned (or even an active) woodpecker hole that has been tunneled into the trunk or branch of a tree. Barbets can be quite pugnacious and in the wild have been known to take over a nest of less dominant birds. The breeding mor­ phology of the barbet family is very similar to that of the toucan family. In 1995, I received a pair of Levaillant's Barbets from Jim Gunderson who has reared a consid­ erable number of softbills in his life­ time including the Levaillant's Barbet. The pair I received consisted of a wild­ caught male with a handfed female. The male was very nervous and skit­ tish while the female was not afraid of humans in any way. At approximately three weeks ofage the juvenile shows the awareness ofan adult. Tbe The Levaillant's Barbet has a won­ chick looks like its father-much more colorful than the mother. derful song consisting of a long run- 42 July/August 1998 ning trill. This handfed female would c o sit on a log close by and, stretching in c.CI) E o a high upright position, would run off .r:. ~ a musical trill right in front of you. Not a: only did it do it around people as she co(1) Q loved the attention, but one could hear .c>­ her song from several hundred feet oCI) (5 away in the very early mornings. Due .r:. a.. to this great attention-getting behavior, this female was named "Barbie Doll." She was so imprinted to human that I did not know if she would ever repro­ duce or would ever lay eggs. And if she did would they be fertile? I really enjoyed this bird and could easily under tand Jim Gunderson's great affection for her. He had hand reared the bird and wanted it to always have the freedom of a large flight. The pair was originally housed in a 10-foot flight until it could be housed The mother in a very large walk-through flight cage Levaillant's Barbet that was just being finished in my back was handfed and not afraid of yard. This flight cage measured 30 feet humans. She in width by 56 feet in length. It had a would trill a won­ domed roof that attained the height of derful song in 24 feet. The sides were make of pan­ front ofanyone. eled I" X 1/2" wire that went up for approximately 10 feet. Then an alu­ minum alloy tubular structure made for shade houses wa used to dome over the top. Nylon netting was stretched and secured at the top and this created an incredible environment for softbills. This flight cage had a shallow (14 foot diameter) pool placed in it with a man-made stream flowing into it. The flight was well planted using two fruit­ less Mulberry trees as the main shade in the non-winter month. The Mulberry trees were heavily pruned to shape them into an umbrella, as they would normally grow straight up in the air and punch holes through the roof. The flight was planted with a number of hardy plants as the winter­ time temperatures could drop below freezing at night. Cape Honeysuckle and several types ofJasmine vines cov­ ered everal of the sides. I personally am not afraid of placing labeled toxic plants within a softbill aviary as the inhabitants do not partake of them. While in the Los Angeles Zoo's enor­ mous flight cage that had a large num­ ber of oftbills (and even parrot-types), we counted over 27 toxic plants The parent bird drilled an additional small tunnel at the bottom ofthis large palm log. Here the female hasfood in her beak justprior to taking it into the nest to feed the chick. including the very toxic Elephant Ear the afa WATCHBIRD 43 plant. But each aviculturist mu t make tional hole only 2 inches in diameter his or her own decision when it through the bottom of the toucan nest. comes to planting an aviary. This tunneled in a slight curve and eatciuffl The inhabitants of thi flight cage with my thin hands could feel some­ consisted of the pair of Levaillant's thing at the bottom. My first reaction the /11.iSundef£stood Barbets, a pair Fischer's Turacos, a pair was to quickly remove my hand as the ofBlack-naped Orioles, a pair ofLilac­ tips of my fingers had felt a warm /11.inef£al breasted Rollers and several singles. body or bodies that felt like baby mice. By Thomas P. Ryan, D. V.M. These included a Blue-crowned The instant reaction of removing my Binghamton, NY Pigeon, a Tawny Frogmouth, a non­ hand was in hopes ofnot getting bit by (Oct/Nov 1985) flighted (rehab) Red-billed Toucan a mother mouse as I thought that this ;4nothe'l compound ~0W1d in OU'l (Kita) and an ordinary white dove. was a mouse nest. I crashed my elbow Within this flight I had placed a into a tree limb with the force of 6i'ld's diet, calcium is stilL to this large smooth-barked palm trunk that removing my hand in a jerky impulse. AAlf tl misW1de'lstood mlne'ltll to was 31 inches in diameter. It was a It was only seconds later that I H1tV1lf· 2ithe'l J1Je ~itJe too little o'l proven nest for Toco Toucans in past thought this might actually be a baby ~tJes years and I was hoping to soon bird as just the tips of my fingers had too much. \lhis etl'lllf tl'ltide acquire another pair of large toucans touched something fleshy and warm. tl ve'llf clea.'l concept ~ calcium. even if it couldn't be the Toco. The Why not a precocial bird that did not internal dimensions were 10 inches in have its feathers instead of pinky mice? alcium and phosphorus diameter and 17 inches deep. I had no With care I then took a flashlight to are two important miner­ thought that this log would be used by look into the nesting hole (within the als in the diet of birds. anything other than a toucan. larger nesting hole) but due to the Calcium-e and phosphorus-related I knew quickly that the barbets curve in the narrow nest I could not problems are not uncommon in pet enjoyed the large flight. When I observe anything. So down the hole birds. The deficiency most frequently released them into it the male instantly went my hand again and this time I seen in pet birds fed an all-seed diet is flew to the topmost secure corner removed an approximately 10-day-old of calcium. ,Calcium is reqUired in away from me while the female land­ baby Levaillant's Barbet. I carefully greater quantities than any other min­ ed on a log within feet of my face. photographed it and placed it back in eral and its metabolism is closely inter­ Their previous 10 foot flight was never the hole. There was only one chick twined with that of phosphorus and entered except to feed. Now their new and with careful observation I could vitamin D. home, a walk-through flight cage, was see that both parents were feeding the Calcium is important for the follow­ a different matter. Wherever anyone youngster. Another photograph was ing: went, Barbie was sure to follow. taken a week later and then the chick 1. The major component of bone and After several months in the flight fledged after approximately three to egg shell; cage the female barbet began a behav­ four weeks. 2. Necessary for nerve impulses. ior that was not too pleasant to The fledged juvenile looked like its 3. Heart rate and blood clotting. humans. She began to land on one's father. Both showed great amounts of 4. Muscle function. arm and pinch the skin very tightly yellow flecking and red edging. The 5. Metabolic processes. without letting go. This was not only tame female, however, is very pale in annoying but was quite painful, as one appearance and I do not know if this Phosphorus is found in bone, egg had to physically remove the bird's is and individualistic trait or a differ­ hell, muscles and is important in the beak from the arm.