A bird with a thick bristled bespeckled face and a crushingly crimson vest broken by a broad black cummerbund!

Meet the Bearded Barbet

“Bearded Barbet 1” by mosher13 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The bearded barbet (Lybius dubius) is a fairly plump highly conspicuous bird measuring 26 centimeters in length with a large head and short tail. Adult birds have a black crown, back, tail, and breast band. The throat is crimson-red, flecked with white below the black breast band. This bird also has a thick bill colored yellow, bristled with a thick clump of barb at its base which gives the species its name.

“Bearded Barbet 1” by mosher13 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Red eyes are surrounded by a yellow eye patch, the rump is white.

Males and females look very much alike.

“Bearded Barbet – Gambia 17_CD5A4692” by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The bearded barbet is a common resident breeder in tropical west Africa.

“Bearded Barbet – Gambia 17_CD5A4724” by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Bearded Barbet likes to inhabit well-wooded areas with plentiful fig trees, even entering suburban gardens looking for fruit.

“Bearded Barbet” by Charles Patrick Ewing is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Bearded barbets are mainly frugivorous birds dining on a variety of fruit and vegetables including figs. Fruit is eaten whole with seeds later being dispersed. They have also been known to include insects, and occasionally frogs, lizards, and geckos.

“Bearded Barbet 2” by mosher13 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

These birds typically nest in tree cavities where the hen usually lays up to 2 eggs which are incubated for around 13 to 15 days. Both parents share nesting duties.

“Bearded Barbet 2” by mosher13 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

This bird is regarded as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

“Bearded Barbet …Gambia” by peterichman is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

You can watch this bird right here in the video below: