Toucan-barbets | Semnornithidae

Toekanbaardvogels | Barbudos tucán

A small family of two species, one of which occurs in the region: the Prong-billed Barbet, found only in the humid montane forest of Costa Rica and western Panama. Toucan-barbets stand between the New World barbets and the toucans and were recognised as a family of their own only on the basis of DNA studies. They are stocky, large-headed birds with a short, heavy bill; in this species the upper mandible ends in a forked tip that fits into a groove in the lower mandible, a shape whose function is still not well understood. The plumage is olive-brown with a golden or tawny breast, and the male has a glossy black tuft on the nape. They feed mainly on fruit and berries, supplemented with flowers and insects, and forage in small, noisy groups in the middle and upper levels of the forest. Pairs sing in duet with hollow, croaking notes. They nest and roost in cavities they excavate themselves in dead or rotting wood, and outside the breeding season several birds sometimes spend the night together in one hole. The eggs are white.