Order
Piciformes
Family
Semnornithidae
Genus
Semnornis
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Prong-billed Barbet Semnornis frantzii

Brandon Buckio
Version: 1.0 — Published June 3, 2011

Behavior

Introduction

Prong-billed Barbets typically forage in the canopy but may descend lower, especially at forest edge (Stiles and Skutch 1989). Fruit may be swallowed whole, or the barbet may squeeze a fruit to swallow the juice, discarding the husk (Stiles and Skutch 1989).   If the fruit is larger individuals will tear at the fruit with its bill while holding it down with its feet (Skutch 1944).

Roosts in cavities in trees (Skutch 1944, Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Territoriality

Prong-billed Barbets are mostly territorial during the breeding season, defending their nesting site from intruders.

Sexual Behavior

The Prong-billed Barbet is a monogamous species, with mates forming strong bonds for the duration of the breeding season. Cooperative breeding is not reported (Skutch 1944), in contrast to its congener, the Toucan Barbet Semnornis ramphastinus (Restrepo and Mondragon 1998).

Social and interspecific behavior

During much of the year, Prong-billed Barbets are gregarious, foraging in flocks of up to a dozen individuals (Stiles and Skutch 1989), and roosting communally in groups of up to 16 in cavities in trees (Skutch 1944, Stiles and Skutch 1989). When breeding, however, these groups disband, and pairs of Prong-billed Barbets defend separate territories.

Predation

Skutch (1944) observed a Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis) carrying an adult barbet in its talons. Skutch (1944) also suspected that Emerald Toucanets (Aulacorhynchus prasinus) would attempt to invade Prong-billed Barbet nests in an attempt to get at the eggs and fledglings within the nest, and that a tayra (Eira barbara) "or some other powerful arboreal mammal" was responsible for the loss of one nest.

Recommended Citation

Buckio, B. (2011). Prong-billed Barbet (Semnornis frantzii), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.prbbar1.01