The spot-crowned barbet is a species of bird in the family Capitonidae. It is found in Colombia and Panama.
Region
Central America and northwestern South America
Typical Environment
The spot-crowned barbet is found from eastern Panama into the Chocó and adjacent regions of northwestern Colombia. It favors humid lowland and foothill rainforests, especially along forest edges, riverine corridors, and secondary growth with tall fruiting trees. Most activity occurs in the midstory to canopy, where it forages at fruiting figs and other trees. It tolerates some habitat disturbance but declines where large tracts of forest are cleared.
Altitude Range
0–1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This New World barbet inhabits humid forests of eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. Like other barbets, it excavates nest cavities in dead or decaying wood using its stout bill. By swallowing fruit whole and passing or regurgitating the seeds, it helps maintain forest regeneration. Pairs often duet, making their presence known even when they stay high in the canopy.
Illustration of male by Romain Risso
Temperament
quiet and canopy-dwelling, somewhat secretive but vocal
Flight Pattern
short undulating flights between canopy trees
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small family groups, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks at fruiting trees. Both sexes excavate nest cavities in soft or dead wood and share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Territorial during breeding, with frequent duets reinforcing pair bonds.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A series of hollow, repetitive notes delivered in measured sequences, often as a coordinated duet between mates. Calls carry well through the forest and are often the first clue to their presence.
Plumage
Stout, short-tailed barbet with a dark head patterned by small pale spots on the crown, contrasting with brighter throat and breast tones and paler underparts. Upperparts are dusky to olive-green with minimal barring; underparts range from buffy to yellowish with limited mottling. The bill is thick, pale-horn to gray, and slightly hooked at the tip.
Diet
Primarily frugivorous, feeding on figs, berries, and other soft fruits taken from the midstory and canopy. It supplements its diet with insects and other small invertebrates gleaned from foliage or snapped from bark. Fruits are swallowed whole, aiding seed dispersal across its range.
Preferred Environment
Forages high in the canopy at fruiting trees along forest edges, clearings, and river margins. Also visits secondary forest and tall shade trees in agroforestry landscapes when intact forest is nearby.
