White-cheeked Barbet

White-cheeked Barbet

Psilopogon viridis

Silhouette: Rohit N · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at Kollam

In 3 days >90%

3,869 Verified sightings at Kollam
10,967 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the White-cheeked Barbet

The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet (Psilopogon viridis) is a species of Asian barbet found in southern India. It is very similar to the more widespread brown-headed barbet (or large green barbet, Psilopogon zeylanicus), but this species has a distinctive supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye and is found in the forest areas of the Western Ghats, parts of the Eastern Ghats and adjoining hills. The brown-headed barbet has an orange eye-ring but the calls are very similar and the two species occur together in some of the drier forests to the east of the Western Ghats. Like all other Asian barbets, they are mainly frugivorous (although they may sometimes eat insects), and use their bills to excavate nest cavities in trees.

Bucco viridis was the scientific name proposed by Pieter Boddaert in 1783 for a green barbet that had been described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 based on a specimen collected in India. It was illustrated by François-Nicolas Martinet in a hand-coloured plate. It was placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1842 who suggested to use this name instead of Bucco.

Its type locality is... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:39

India · 2024

© Jairam Vijayan · XC872785 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Call0:08

India · 2023

© Tushar Bhagwat · XC788186 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:14

India · 2023

© Sathyan Meppayur · XC786596 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
3 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
4 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
5 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
~80%
3 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~80%
4 Kollam 🇮🇳 India
~70%
5 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~60%
6 Ponnani 🇮🇳 India
~60%
7 Mysuru 🇮🇳 India
~60%
8 Kozhikode 🇮🇳 India
~50%
9 Colachel 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Coimbatore 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-cheeked Barbet in Kollam?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-cheeked Barbet sighting in Kollam on a given day, based on 3,869 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-cheeked Barbet in Kollam?

February

In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a White-cheeked Barbet in Kollam on a given day, against about 60% in August and September, the lowest months. That is one of Kollam's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 330 mm in October.

What time of day is best to see a White-cheeked Barbet?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-cheeked Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Kollam the best place to see a White-cheeked Barbet?

4th of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate White-cheeked Barbet sightings, Kollam ranks 4th at about 70%. The best odds are in Bengaluru (India, about 80%), Thrissur (India, about 80%) and Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 80%).

Where does the White-cheeked Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-cheeked Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Kollam (3,869 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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