Red-crowned Barbet

Red-crowned Barbet

Psilopogon rafflesii

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 Singapore

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

704 Verified sightings at Singapore
424 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Red-crowned Barbet

The red-crowned barbet (Psilopogon rafflesii) is part of one of the two subfamilies of Megalaimidae birds. it is in the order of woodpeckers (Piciformes) and their relatives. It is distributed in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations with a distribution area of 3,180,000 km2 (1,230,000 sq mi).

The red-crowned barbet is a medium-large tropical bird, 24.5–27 cm (9.6–10.6 in) long and 99–150 g (3.5–5.3 oz) in weight. Both sexes are primarily green, with a red crown, red spots below the eyes, and a red mark on the side of the neck. The barbet wears a blue throat and broad supercilia accompanied by a black and yellow face. Immature and females resemble males with a duller colour scheme called monomorphism.

The red-crowned barbet belongs to the woodpecker order Piciformes in the family of Psilopogon. This lineage of the Barbet family can be traced to America, Asia and Africa. They separated into the New World (Americas) and the Old World (Asia and Africa) Barbets. Such genus of the Americas is the Toucan barbet, which separated before the Gilded barbet... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:37

Malaysia · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1186803 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:28

Malaysia · 2024

© Lim Ying Hien · XC947267 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:47

Singapore · 2022

© Joshua Chong · XC766580 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~70%
2 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~50%
3 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
4 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
5 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
6 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
7 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
~10%
2 Kuching 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Red-crowned Barbet in Singapore?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-crowned Barbet sighting in Singapore on a given day, based on 704 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 86th most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Red-crowned Barbet in Singapore?

February–May, August–September and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-crowned Barbet in Singapore on a given day, against under 5% in June–July, October and December–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Red-crowned Barbet?

Between 1 and 4 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-crowned Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Singapore the best place to see a Red-crowned Barbet?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Red-crowned Barbet sightings, Singapore has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Kuching (Malaysia, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Red-crowned Barbet live in Singapore?

Same genus: Psilopogon

The closest relatives of the Red-crowned Barbet that you can see in Singapore (genus Psilopogon, Typical Asian Barbets) are Lineated Barbet (about 30%) and Coppersmith Barbet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Red-crowned Barbet sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Red-crowned Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in Singapore (704 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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