Buccanodon duchaillui
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The yellow-spotted barbet (Buccanodon duchaillui) is a bird species in the monotypic genus Buccanodon. It belongs to the African barbet family (Lybiidae) which was formerly included in the Capitonidae and sometimes in the Ramphastidae.
Two subspecies are known: The western subspecies was described in 2019 as a distinct species based on its unique song. The western yellow-spotted barbet has a song described by Nigel James Collar and Peter Boesman as "a series of 7–10 accelerating notes similar to a song of hairy-breasted barbet (Tricholaema hirsuta)" (phoneticized as "oop"), while the eastern yellow-spotted barbet has a song described by Collar and Boesman as a "characteristic purring (lasting 1–2 seconds), unique among [African] barbets" (phoneticized as "rrurrrrrr…"). These song differences led to the description of B. dowsetti as a distinct species. In 2023, the International Ornithological Congress recognized dowsetti as a distinct taxon, but tentatively kept it as a subspecies of duchailllui due to other studies finding significant divergences elsewhere within the species' range, indicating that B. duchaillui as a whole may represent a species complex.
It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Taï National Park | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | |
| 4 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Barbet sighting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, based on 324 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 91st most-seen of the 400 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May–August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Barbet in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April and September–February, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-spotted Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Yellow-spotted Barbet sightings, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 20%).
Same family: Lybiidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-spotted Barbet that you can see in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (family Lybiidae, African Barbets) are Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (about 50%), Grey-throated Barbet (about 40%) and Speckled Tinkerbird (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-spotted Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (324 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
