Field Identification

c. 19·5–20 cm; Sira Barbet is a distinctive black, white, yellow and red barbet. Adult males have the crown red, the mantle black with yellow spots, and the remainder of the upperparts black with a central white line. The head and face are further marked with a white superciliary stripe and a black mask. The underparts are largely white to creamy white, with a crimson breast band. Females are similar but tend to have white speckling in the black area below the eye and variable amounts of whitish or yellowish spotting on shoulders.

Unmistakable within its range (1 Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, D. F. Lane, J. P. O’Neill, and T. A. Parker (2010). Birds of Peru. Revised edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).