Double-toothed barbet, Lybius bidentatus aequatorialis (protonym, Bucco bidentatus), also known as the groove-billed barbet or as the tooth-billed barbet, photographed at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia (Africa). NOTE: this image has been altered. It has been cropped from the original so it has the correct dimensions for display on mobile media, especially on those pesky android phones.
Question: This gorgeous Ethiopian mystery bird species is an important disperser of seeds. Can you identify this bird's taxonomic family? Can you identify this species? Is this bird's bill fractured or did it evolve to accomplish a specific "job"?
Response: This is an adult double-toothed barbet, Lybius bidentatus, yet another handsome member of that confusing genus, Lybius, and equally confusing taxonomic family, Lybiidae.
The double-toothed barbet was named for the two notches on each side of its bill. These notches are used to gather food -- at least some of which is very much alive and kicking and determined not to be eaten by a ravenous bird! This species consumes a variety of fruits, and it will cling to tree trunks whilst hunting for and consuming a wide variety of insects, arthropods (especially scorpions and centipedes) and small vertebrates (such as lizards and frogs). It also hawks flying insects.
This species is distinguished from the black-breasted barbet, L. rolleti, and the bearded barbet, L. dubius, by its smaller size, pale yellow eye ring, lack of black on its bright red underparts, and its prominent red wingbar -- and by its lack of a beard!
You've met several congeners recently; the very distantly-related banded barbet, L. undatus, and the black-billed barbet, L. guifsobalito. In that first mystery bird solution, I discussed the early radiation of the banded barbet away from the rest of the Lybius lineage, and in the second mystery bird solution, I introduced the vagueries of the barbets' taxonomic placement -- a situation that is not likely to be resolved anytime soon.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
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