Great Barbet

Great Barbet

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

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Guwahati

In 3 days <5%

7 Verified sightings at Guwahati
2,971 In all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Great Barbet

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 →

Sounds

Duet0:16

China · 2026

© Stephen Matthews · XC1087013 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:10

China · 2025

© Feather V · XC992118 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:16

China · 2020

© Geoff Carey · XC881687 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~50%
2 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
3 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
4 Langtang National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
5 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
7 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Guiyang 🇨🇳 China
~30%
2 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
3 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
4 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~10%
5 Hangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
6 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
<5%
8 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
<5%
9 Islamabad 🇵🇰 Pakistan
<5%
10 Guwahati 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Great Barbet in Guwahati?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Barbet sighting in Guwahati on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 164th most-seen of the 185 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Great Barbet in Guwahati?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Barbet in Guwahati on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Great Barbet?

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.

Is Guwahati the best place to see a Great Barbet?

10th of 10

Of the 10 cities where we can rate Great Barbet sightings, Guwahati ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Guiyang (China, about 30%), Kathmandu (Nepal, about 20%) and Guangzhou (China, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Great Barbet live in Guwahati?

Same genus: Psilopogon

The closest relatives of the Great Barbet that you can see in Guwahati (genus Psilopogon, Typical Asian Barbets) are Blue-throated Barbet (about 70%), Lineated Barbet (about 40%) and Coppersmith Barbet (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Great Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Great Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Guwahati (7 verified sightings), 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.

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