Sooty Barbet

Sooty Barbet

Caloramphus hayii

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

LCNTNear ThreatenedVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kuala Lumpur

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

252 Verified sightings at Kuala Lumpur
549 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Sooty Barbet

The sooty barbet (Caloramphus hayii) is a species of bird in the family Megalaimidae. It is found in Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra and formerly Singapore where it is extirpated. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

This species is split from the brown barbet (C. fuliginosus) which is an endemic species on Borneo. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:12

Malaysia · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC921965 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:45

Malaysia · 2022

© Ding Li Yong · XC741903 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:20

Malaysia · 2012

© Frank Lambert · XC114184 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~40%
2 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
3 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
4 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
5 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
6 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Sooty Barbet in Kuala Lumpur?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Barbet sighting in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, based on 252 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 228 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Sooty Barbet in Kuala Lumpur?

March, May and July

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Barbet in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.

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

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Where else can you see a Sooty Barbet?

Only Kuala Lumpur, in our data

Kuala Lumpur is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sooty Barbet sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Sooty Barbet live in Kuala Lumpur?

Same family: Megalaimidae

The closest relatives of the Sooty Barbet that you can see in Kuala Lumpur (family Megalaimidae, Asian Barbets) are Coppersmith Barbet (about 20%), Lineated Barbet (about 10%) and Black-eared Barbet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Sooty Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Sooty Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Kuala Lumpur (252 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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