The southern red-fronted tinkerbird, is a small bird in the African barbet family Lybiidae. It is found in southern Mozambique and eastern South Africa. This species was formerly regarded as conspecific with the northern red-fronted tinkerbird.
Region
Southeastern Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Mozambique into eastern South Africa, especially along the coastal plain and adjacent foothills. It frequents woodland edges, riverine thickets, coastal scrub, and suburban gardens with fruiting trees. The species favors dense tangles and canopy foliage rather than open ground. It avoids treeless grassland and the interior of tall, closed forest, preferring edges and secondary growth.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A tiny barbet, it advertises its territory with a metronomic “tink…tink…tink” that can continue for minutes and sounds ventriloquial. It excavates its own nest cavity in dead twigs or soft wood despite its small size. Often detected by voice long before it is seen, as it forages quietly inside dense foliage. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the northern red-fronted tinkerbird.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs within small territories. Both sexes excavate a nest cavity in soft or dead wood and line it minimally. Clutch is incubated in the cavity, and parents feed the young with small fruits and insects.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A steady, high-pitched tink delivered in long, even series at a metronomic pace, often carrying far and difficult to locate. Calls may accelerate slightly during territorial exchanges and continue for extended periods, especially at dawn and late afternoon.
Plumage
Olive-green upperparts with faint pale edging on the wing coverts and yellowish underparts with subtle dusky streaking on the flanks. The crown-front shows a small but distinct red forecrown patch above the bill. Throat is pale to whitish, with a narrow, diffuse pale supercilium.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small fruits and berries, notably mistletoe and figs. Also takes a variety of small arthropods such as beetles, ants, and caterpillars gleaned from foliage and twigs. Will swallow fruit whole and later regurgitate seeds, aiding seed dispersal. Foraging is deliberate and mostly within dense cover.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the midstory to canopy of woodland, thickets, and garden trees. Often concentrates where mistletoes or other fruiting plants are abundant, including along forest edges and riparian corridors.
