Psilopogon virens
Silhouette: Vijay Cavale (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The great barbet (Psilopogon virens) is an Asian barbet native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) altitude. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004 because of its wide distribution.
Bucco virens was the scientific name proposed by Pieter Boddaert in 1783 for a great barbet that had been described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1781 based on a specimen collected in China. It was illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet.
It was placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1842 who suggested to use this name instead of Bucco. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the following great barbet zoological specimens were described:
Megalaema marshallorum proposed by Robert Swinhoe in 1870 was based on a great barbet from the Himalayas. Megalaima virens magnifica proposed by E. C. Stuart Baker in 1926 was a male barbet from Machi, Manipur. Megalaima virens clamator proposed by Ernst Mayr in 1941 was a bird collected in northern Myanmar.
Molecular phylogenetic research of barbets revealed that the birds in the genus Megalaima... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 2 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Barbet sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 338th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Barbet in Chitwan National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
8th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Great Barbet sightings, Chitwan National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 50%), Namdapha National Park (India, about 40%) and Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, about 20%).
Same genus: Psilopogon
The closest relatives of the Great Barbet that you can see in Chitwan National Park (genus Psilopogon, Typical Asian Barbets) are Lineated Barbet (about 40%), Coppersmith Barbet (about 20%) and Blue-throated Barbet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (6 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.
