Golden-throated Barbet

Golden-throated Barbet

Psilopogon franklinii

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 Kathmandu

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

77 Verified sightings at Kathmandu
2,288 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Golden-throated Barbet

The golden-throated barbet (Psilopogon franklinii) is an Asian barbet native to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests between 900 and 2,700 m (3,000 and 8,900 ft) altitude. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution and stable population.

Bucco franklinii was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1842 who described a vivid green barbet with a golden throat collected in Darjeeling. 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 golden-throated barbet zoological specimens were described:

Megalaema ramsayi proposed by Arthur Viscount Walden in 1875 was a golden-throated barbet collected in the Karen Hills. Cyanops franklinii auricularis proposed by Herbert C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss in 1919 for a barbet collected at the Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.

Cyanops franklinii minor proposed by C. Boden Kloss and Frederick Nutter Chasen in 1926 for a specimen collected in Perak, Malaysia. Cyanops franklinii trangensis proposed by Joseph Harvey Riley in 1934 for a barbet collected in... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:54

China · 2026

© Yang Li · XC1133290 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:33

China · 2026

© JJSUN · XC1086612 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:13

Thailand · 1986

© Jelle Scharringa · XC1074036 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

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

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Golden-throated Barbet in Kathmandu?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-throated Barbet sighting in Kathmandu on a given day, based on 77 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 167th most-seen of the 312 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Golden-throated Barbet in Kathmandu?

July

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-throated Barbet in Kathmandu on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Kathmandu's wettest months, with about 280 mm of rain against almost none in November.

What time of day is best to see a Golden-throated Barbet?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-throated 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.

Where else can you see a Golden-throated Barbet?

Only Kathmandu, in our data

Kathmandu is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Golden-throated Barbet sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Golden-throated Barbet live in Kathmandu?

Same genus: Psilopogon

The closest relatives of the Golden-throated Barbet that you can see in Kathmandu (genus Psilopogon, Typical Asian Barbets) are Blue-throated Barbet (about 50%), Great Barbet (about 20%) and Coppersmith Barbet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Golden-throated Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Golden-throated Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Kathmandu (77 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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