Black-collared Barbet

Black-collared Barbet

Lybius torquatus

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Johannesburg

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

1,429 Verified sightings at Johannesburg
5,760 In all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black-collared Barbet

The black-collared barbet (Lybius torquatus) is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa. Indigenous names include Rooikophoutkapper in Afrikaans, isiKhulukhulu and isiQonQotho in Zulu, and Isinagogo in Xhosa.

It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa through Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The black-collared barbet usually is about 20–25 cm long, plump-looking and has a large head. It also has the heavy bill fringed with bristles that is characteristic of the genus Lybius. This barbet has a very obvious black collar and head which gives reference to its name. It also has a fire-engine red coloring around the eyes and beak. It has morphologically variable coloring because there is a replacement of a red head with a black head. It also has a more intense color and is larger than other barbets. This bird is also sexually monomorphic, which means that there is generally no phenotypic difference between the males and females of this species. The morphology, size and behavior are basically... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Aberrant0:11

South Africa · 2024

© Daan van der Hoeven · XC935295 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:17

Zambia · 2024

© Dries Van de Loock · XC932695 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:23

Zambia · 2023

© Marc Anderson · XC890684 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~50%
2 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
3 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
4 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
5 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
6 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
7 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
8 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~20%
9 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
10 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
11 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
12 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
13 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
14 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~10%
15 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
16 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
17 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
18 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
19 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
2 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
3 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
4 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
5 Harare 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~30%
6 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~30%
7 Lilongwe 🇲🇼 Malawi
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Tierpark Hagenbeck 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
2 Monkeyland 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
3 Birds of Eden 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black-collared Barbet in Johannesburg?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-collared Barbet sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 1,429 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 21st most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black-collared Barbet in Johannesburg?

December

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-collared Barbet in Johannesburg on a given day, against about 30% in March–May and October, the lowest months. That is one of Johannesburg's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against almost none in July.

What time of day is best to see a Black-collared Barbet?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-collared Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Johannesburg the best place to see a Black-collared Barbet?

3rd of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Black-collared Barbet sightings, Johannesburg ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 50%) and Pretoria (South Africa, about 50%).

Where does the Black-collared Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black-collared Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (1,429 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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