Systematics

Six subspecies recognized. These subspecies differ slightly from one another in the ventral pattern of coloration in the males, and in the coloration of the head in the females. The following short range descriptions and plumage diagnoses are based on Peters (1948) and Short and Horne (2001):

salvini: described by Shelley in 1891; type locality Costa Rica to Chiriqui. Occurs in Costa Rica and western Panama. Red of head of male reaches upper breast, but orange band on lower breast is relatively narrow. Female has all black forehead; hindcrown is greener than in nominate bourcierii, upperparts slightly darker green, and the throat has some bluish color.

anomalus: described by Griscom in 1929; type locality Cana, Darien, Panama. Occurs in eastern Panama. Male has red throat but no red on breast; orange band on breast is narrow and more yellow. Female has all black forehead. The throat is greener than in salvini, and the orange of the forecrown and sides of the neck are discrete (not expanding onto the hindcrown and nape).

occidentalis: described by Chapman in 1914; type locality San Antonio, western Andes above Cali, Colombia. Occurs in the western Andes of Colombia. The orange breast band extends relatively far forward. The female has a black forehead; orange does not expand beyond the forecrown and sides of the neck. The hindcrown is bronzy green, the throat has a blue tint, and the orange breast band is more extensive.

bourcierii: described by Lafresnaye in 1845; type locality Bogotá, Colombia. Occurs on the east slope of the central Andes and the west slope of the eastern Andes of Colombia.

aequatorialis: described by Salvadori and Festa in 1900; type locality Intac, Ecuador. Occurs on the west slope of the Andes of Ecuador. The male lacks orange on the breast. The female has a larger black black forehead patch, and the crown and sides of the head are more extensively orange-gold.

orientalis: described by Chapman in 1914; type locality Zamora, Loja, Ecuador. Occurs on the east slope of the Andes in Ecuador and in northernmost Peru (north of the Río Marañón). The male has a broad orange breast band below the red throat, the orange extending to the belly. The female has a slightly greener throat, and a narrow blue forehead band.

The systematics of the genus Eubucco have not been studied in detail. One hybrid is known between Eubucco bourcierii orientalis and the Lemon-throated Barbet (Eubucco richarsoni richardsoni), from the Rio Napo region in Ecuador (Short and Horne 2001). The Scarlet-hooded Barbet (Eubucco tucinkae) formerly was classified as a subspecies of bourcierii, but tucinkae is Amazonian, not montane, and has a different female plumage and song; see also Traylor (1951).