Megalaimidae

Great Barbet

Psilopogon virens

Its loud, ringing call echoes through the cedars.

Seen atKunja ·Ranikhet

Opens recordings on xeno-canto, the open bird-sound archive.

In the Lap of Nature

What the hills call it

Basanta

/ ba·san·taa /बसंता

HindiBird

Great Barbet — Its loud, ringing call echoes through the cedars.

Field notes

Order: Piciformes
Family: Megalaimidae · Asian barbets
Genus: Psilopogon
Length: 32–35 cm
Weight: 150–295 g
At Kunja: Resident — here all year round
Conservation: Least Concern

How to know it

A big, heavy barbet — oily green body, a dark blue-green head, a brown-streaked breast and a thick pale-yellow bill. Far more often heard than seen.

What it eats

Mostly fruit — figs, berries and wild cherries — with some insects; a key disperser of fig seeds through the forest.

Where & when to spot it

High in the leafy oaks and fruiting trees on the slope above the village. Listen for its loud, far-carrying, monotonous 'pi-o, pi-o' through the warm months.

Nesting & mating

Chisels a nest-hole in a soft or dead trunk, both birds digging; two to four eggs are raised inside through spring and summer.

In the field

When we’ve seen it

Most often photographed in March, usually in the middle of the day. That makes spring a clear window to spot it around the homestay.

Spotting tip: head out in the middle of the day, walk slowly and stop often, and listen as much as you look — most of these birds call before they show themselves.

In the lens