Traditionally the three barbet families were subsumed under the Capitonidae, known in Chinese as the 须䴕科 xū-liè kē ('bearded woodpecker family'). Howard and Moore 2003 place them in the larger Ramphastidae (Chinese 巨嘴鸟科 jù-zuǐ-niǎo kē 'giant-bill bird family' or 鵎鵼科 tuókōng kē 'toucan family'; Japanese オオハシ科 ō-hashi ka 'large bill family'). Sibley and Monroe place them in the Megalaimidae (Chinese 拟啄木鸟科 nǐ-zhuómù-niǎo kē 'pseudo-woodpecker family'; Japanese オオゴシキドリ科 ō-go-shiki-dori ka 'large five-coloured bird family'). |
General
Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin reflects Mandarin pronunciation; for some dialect names, it is no more than a polite fiction. Korean glosses are tentative. Comments and corrections welcome. Hover over Green Lettering to see additional information.
With the exception of the Great Barbet, occurring right across southern China, the barbets are mainly confined to the far south west (especially Yunnan). Megalaima oorti (Muller's or Black-eyebrowed Barbet) is found in Taiwan and Hainan.
The barbets appear to lack a traditional name in Chinese. Perhaps because they are unknown in northern China, naturalists have felt free to bestow on them the less-than-inspiring name of 拟啄木鸟 , meaning 'pseudo-woodpecker'. Zheng Guangmei's world list of birds uses the more compact 拟䴕 , 'pseudo-woodpecker', where 䴕 is an old name for the woodpeckers. (If your browser can't see the character, place your mouse over the top). The previous Taiwanese name for Megalaima oorti is the more poetic 五色鸟 'five-coloured bird', which appears to be borrowed from Japanese. Taiwan ornithological names now adopt a variant of the Mainland name.
Another name for the barbets is 须䴕 or 'bearded woodpecker'.
Species names
MEGALAIMINAE | ||||||||
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SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
EAST |
SOUTH | NORTH |
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Psilopogon | ||||||||
Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Psilopogon virens Megalaima virens ![]() ![]() |
Great barbet | 大拟啄木鸟 (大擬啄木鳥) 'large pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 大拟䴕 (大擬鴷) 'large pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
オオゴシキドリ (大五色鳥) ō go-shiki-dori 'large five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima virens: Chim Thầy chùa lớn 'large bonze bird' (12, 34) |
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Psilopogon lineatus Megalaima lineata ![]() ![]() |
Lineated barbet | 绿拟啄木鸟 (綠擬啄木鳥) 'green pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3) or 斑头绿拟啄木鸟 (斑頭擬啄木鳥) 'stripe-headed green pseudo wood-pecking bird' (2. alt in 1, 3) 绿拟䴕 (綠擬鴷) 'green pseudo-woodpecker' (4) ![]() ![]() |
シロボシオオゴシキドリ (白星大五色鳥) shiro-boshi ō go-shiki-dori 'white-starred large five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima lineata: Chim Thầy chùa bụng nâu 'brown-bellied bonze bird' (12, 34) |
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Psilopogon faiostrictus Megalaima faiostricta ![]() ![]() |
Green-eared barbet Lineated barbet |
黄纹拟啄木鸟 (黃紋擬啄木鳥) 'yellow-fine-patterned pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 黄纹拟䴕 (黃紋擬鴷) 'yellow-fine-patterned pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
ミミアオゴシキドリ (耳青五色鳥) mimi-ao go-shiki-dori 'blue/green-eared five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima faiostricta: Chim Thầy chùa đầu xám 'grey-headed bonze bird' (12, 34) |
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Psilopogon franklinii Megalaima franklinii ![]() ![]() |
Golden-throated barbet | 金喉拟啄木鸟 (金喉擬啄木鳥) 'gold-throated pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 金喉拟䴕 (金喉擬鴷) 'gold-throated pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
キンノドゴシキドリ (金喉五色鳥) kin-nodo go-shiki-dori 'gold-throated five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima franklinii: Chim Cu rốc đầu vàng 'yellow-headed cu rốc bird' (12, 34) |
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Psilopogon oorti Megalaima oorti ![]() ![]() |
Black-browed barbet Muller's barbet Malayan barbet |
黑眉拟啄木鸟 (黑眉擬啄木鳥) 'black eyebrowed pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 黑眉拟䴕 (黑眉擬鴷) 'black-eyebrowed pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
(台湾拟啄木) 台灣擬啄木 'Taiwan pseudo-wood-pecker' Taiwan formerly: (五色鸟) 五色鳥 'five-coloured bird' ![]() ![]() |
山拟啄木鸟 (擬啄木鳥) 'mountain pseudo wood-pecking bird' (6) |
ゴシキドリ (五色鳥) go-shiki-dori 'five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima oorti: Chim Cu rốc trán vàng 'yellow-foreheaded cu rốc bird' (12, 34) |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Psilopogon asiaticus Megalaima asiatica ![]() |
Blue-throated barbet | 蓝喉拟啄木鸟 (藍喉擬啄木鳥) 'blue-throated pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 蓝喉拟䴕 (藍喉擬鴷) 'blue-throated pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
アオノドゴシキドリ (青喉五色鳥) ao-nodo go-shiki-dori 'blue/green-throated five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima asiatica: Chim Cu rốc đầu đỏ 'red-headed cu rốc bird' (12, 34) |
Inner M: Хоолой хөх цондуулаг ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠯᠠᠢ ᠬᠦᠬᠡ ᠴᠣᠨᠳᠣᠣᠯᠯᠢᠭ khooloi khökh tsonduullag 'darkblue-throat woodpecker-type' (31) |
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Psilopogon australis Megalaima australis ![]() ![]() |
Blue-eared barbet | 蓝耳拟啄木鸟 (藍耳擬啄木鳥) 'blue-eared pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 蓝耳拟䴕 (藍耳擬鴷) 'blue-eared pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
アオミミゴシキドリ (青耳五色鳥) ao-mimi go-shiki-dori 'blue/green-eared five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima australis: Chim Cu rốc đầu đen 'black-headed cu rốc bird' (12, 34) |
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Psilopogon haemacephalus Megalaima haemacephala ![]() |
Coppersmith barbet Crimson-breasted barbet |
赤胸拟啄木鸟 (赤胸擬啄木鳥) 'red-breasted pseudo wood-pecking bird' (1, 2, 3, 5) 赤胸拟䴕 (赤胸擬鴷) 'red-breasted pseudo-woodpecker' (4) |
赤胸拟啄木 'red-breasted pseudo wood-pecker' |
ムネアカゴシキドリ (胸赤五色鳥) mune-aka go-shiki-dori 'red-breasted five-coloured bird' |
Megalaima haemacephala: Chim Cu rốc cổ đỏ 'red-throated cu rốc bird' (12, 34) |
Chim Việt Nam Nguyễn Cử, Lê Trọng Trải, Karen Phillipps; Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động - Xã Hội, 2000