Systematics

The Blue-throated Barbet was originally placed in the genus Cyanops, which was then synonymized with Megalaima (9 Ripley, S. D. (1945) The barbets. Auk 62: 542-563. Close ) where it remained until phylogenetic studies indicated that Psilopogon is embedded within Megalaima (10 den Tex, R. J., and J. A. Leonard (2013). A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: speciation and extinction in the tropics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68:1–13. Close ). As Psilopogon has priority, this has resulted in the genus Megalaima being subsumed into Psilopogon. Blue-throated Barbet has previously been considered conspecific with the Turquoise-throated Barbet (Psilopogon chersonesus) and the Mountain Barbet (Psilopogon monticola) (11 Peters, J. L. (1948) Check-list of birds of the world. Volume VI. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Close ), but molecular data confirm these species' distinctiveness (10 den Tex, R. J., and J. A. Leonard (2013). A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: speciation and extinction in the tropics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68:1–13. Close ).

Information needed. The variable red specks in the malar region at the base of the bill possibly show some geographic variation - Biswas (12 Biswas, B. (1947). Notes on a collection of birds from the Darrang District, Assam. Records of the Indian Museum 45:225-244. Close ) noted them as most prominent in birds from Assam and Myanmar, and less prominent or absent in Nepal. Intermediates between nominate asiaticus and subspecies davisoni may occur - e.g. in northernmost Thailand (13 Riley, J. H. (1938). Birds from Siam and the Malay Peninsula in the United States National Museum collected by Drs. Hugh M. Smith and William L. Abbott. US National Museum Bulletin 172:1–581. Close ).

Two subspecies recognized (14 Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2022). The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ).

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EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Blue-throated Barbet (Red-crowned) Psilopogon asiaticus asiaticus Scientific name definitions

• eBird map
• 293 photos
• 19 recordings

Systematics History

Trogon asiaticus Latham, 1790, Index ornithologicus 1 p. 201.—Type locality: India (15 Latham, J. (1790). Index ornithologicus, sive systema ornithologiæ; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c. Volume 1. Published by Author, London, UK. Close ).

Synonym:

Cyanops rubescens Baker, 1896, Novitates Zoologicae 3(3) p. 257.—Type locality: Cachar Hills (16 Baker, E. C. S. (1896). Description of a new Cyanops from North Cachar. Novitates Zoologicae 3:257-258. Close ). Some individuals of Blue-throated Barbet exhibit erythrism, with variable red on the back, over the wing coverts, and on the breast (see Plumages: Aberrant Plumages). Baker (16 Baker, E. C. S. (1896). Description of a new Cyanops from North Cachar. Novitates Zoologicae 3:257-258. Close ) described these as a separate species, and believed them to be restricted to high elevations (> 4000 ft [= 1219 m]) in the North Cachar Hills. However, these individuals are now known to be more widespread, and are recognized as color variants of the nominate subspecies with rubescens being considered invalid (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Distribution

Northeastern Pakistan east along the Himalayas to northern Myanmar and south central China (western Yunnan), south to Bangladesh and central Myanmar.

Identification Summary

Described under Plumages.

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EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Blue-throated Barbet (Blue-crowned) Psilopogon asiaticus davisoni Scientific name definitions

• eBird map
• 81 photos
• 7 recordings

Systematics History

Megalaima Davisoni Hume, 1877, Stray Feathers 5 p. 108.—Type Locality: Meetan, Tenasserim Central Hills (17 Hume, A. O. (1877). Novelties. Stray Feathers 5:100-117. Close ).

Synonyms:

Cyanops davisoni laurentii Wells, 1923, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 43: p. 174.—Type Locality: Yuen Chang, Yunnan. Described by Wells as similar to davisoni but slightly duller, slightly longer wings (given as 101–105 mm vs 95–100 mm), and a shorter stouter bill. Short and Horne (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) also describe it as having a very slightly narrower blue crown band, but consider the overall differences too minor to warrant recognition as a separate subspecies.

Distribution

Southeastern Myanmar and south central China (southeastern Yunnan) east to Guangxi (China), and south to southwestern Thailand, central Laos, and northern Vietnam.

Identification Summary

Differs from the nominate subspecies P. a. asiaticus in possessing a blue rather than black forecrown band, with less yellow in the red forehead just anterior to this, and a narrow blue stripe separating the red hindcrown from the black outer border. The blue in the head is overall slightly paler. This subspecies may show some slight sexual dimorphism, with females lacking the small red mark on the anterior base of the malar region (1 Short, L. L., and J. F. M. Horne (2001) Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Originally considered closely allied to Black-browed Barbet (Psilopogon oorti), Chinese Barbet (Psilopogon faber), Moustached Barbet (Psilopogon incognitus), and Golden-throated Barbet (Psilopogon franklinii) (18 Goodwin, D. (1964). Some aspects of taxonomy and relationships of barbets (Capitonidae). Ibis 106(2):198–219. Close ). Molecular phylogenies indicate a close relationship to the Indochinese Barbet (Psilopogon annamensis), with these two species being sister to the Black-browed Barbet (Psilopogon oorti) and the Turquoise-throated Barbet (Psilopogon chersonesus) (19 Feinstein, J., Y. Xiaojun and L. Shou-Hsien (2008). Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the Black-browed Barbet species complex (Megalaima oorti). Ibis 150(1):40–49. Close , 10 den Tex, R. J., and J. A. Leonard (2013). A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: speciation and extinction in the tropics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68:1–13. Close ). The relationships of different populations within Southeast Asia require further investigation, and may lead to the identification of more cryptic diversification within this group. The four species as a whole are sister to a clade containing the Taiwan Barbet (Psilopogon nuchalis), Chinese Barbet (Psilopogon faber), and Moustached Barbet (Psilopogon incognitus) (10 den Tex, R. J., and J. A. Leonard (2013). A molecular phylogeny of Asian barbets: speciation and extinction in the tropics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68:1–13. Close ). This entire complex of species as a whole deserves more detailed molecular and ecological study.

Not recorded (20 McCarthy, E. M. (2006). Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), but mixed pairs of Blue-throated Barbet and Moustached Barbet have been reported in the wild (21 Short, L. L., J. F. M. Horne, and G. M. Kirwan (2014). Blue-throated Barbet (Psilopogon asiaticus). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ).

The only fossil barbet known is Capitonides europeus from the Miocene of southern Germany, likely related to the Lybiidae (22 Ballmann, P. (1969) Les oiseaux miocènes de La Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère). Géobios 2: 157-204. Close , 23 Ballmann, P. (1983) A new species of fossil barbet (Aves: Piciformes) from the late Miocene of the Nördlinger Ries (southern Germany). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 3: 43-48. Close , 24 Olson, S. L. (1991). Remarks on the fossil record and suprageneric nomenclature of barbets (Aves: Ramphastidae). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 111:222-225. Close ).