White-cheeked barbet

The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet (Psilopogon viridis) is bird. It is an Asian barbet. It lives in southern India. It looks like the brown-headed barbet (or large green barbet) (Psilopogon zeylanica) but it has a different supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye. It lives in forests in the Western Ghats and other hills near the Western Ghats.

White-cheeked barbet
Calls
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Megalaimidae
Genus:	Psilopogon
Species:	P. viridis
Binomial name
Psilopogon viridis (Boddaert, 1783) Type locality: Mahé
Synonyms
Bucco viridis, Thereiceryx viridis, Megalaima viridis

These birds eat mainly fruits, but also sometimes eat insects. These birds rarely visit the ground, obtaining their water from their fruit diet.They live in hollows of trees. Their call is a kutroo - kutroo. They also live in Bangalore.

Behaviour and description

They are identified by their white cheek, also giving them their name. They are hard to spot, as they are green and look very much like a leaf. They also sit still and upright. They sometimes are found in small groups in fruiting trees, along with other fruit-eating birds (frugivores) like green pigeons, bulbuls and mynas. They live in broadleaved forests, gardens and groves.

References

• Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Oxford University Press, Helm Field Guides-2010