Coppersmith Barbet at Nest - Feb 2013

I decided to re-visit the old durian tree where i saw a coppersmith barbet trying to carve a hole into it last month. Initially i did not see any birds but lo and behold a head suddenly poped out from another hole just below the initial trunk.

Then i saw a magical moment.....there were two of them fetching food into the hole.

From then on i decided to spent more time to observe them. The differences between a male and a female Coppersmith Barbet are documented here.

The bird on your right is a male (in both photos) while the female is on the left. In the birds' kingdom  the male birds seem to be more colorful than the female. In these pictures (above & below) you could see that the male has a brighter red and yellow bands on its chest as compared to its female counterpart. The streaks on its body are also bolder and refine than the female. Another thing which differentiate them is their calls - male calls are louder while the female calls are softer. Another interesting fact i have observed is that the flight pattern of the coppersmith is like riding on a wave - up and down (undulated flight) and seldom on a straight path.

Female Coppersmith Barbet

Male Coppersmith Barbet

Female Coppersmith Barbet.

Both the parents were seen carrying food (mainly fruits - esp figs) into the nest. Food delivery was more frequent in the morning (about 5 - 10 minutes interval) while there were fewer deliveries towards the evening. The nesting hole could only acommodate one parent at any one time and there were no faeces throwing done by the parents. For three continous days i could not see or hear the hatchling(s) but the frequency of the food delivered may suggest that it could still be very young. Here are some of the fruits brought in by the parents:

A male Coppersmith Barbet

A female Coppersmith Barbet with a mouthful of fruits.

male

female

Through out the three observation days i did not see them bringing any insects or any source of proteins into the nest. This may suggest that the hatchling is fully on a "vegetarian" diet. Both parents are nevertheless dedicated and fearless as depicted by the pictures below:

On the first day of observation i saw this garden snake sliding slowly up to the tree trunk in the afternoon where the nest is located. Immediately the parent birds undertook their mission to save their nest - diving down and pecking the snake one at the time. What an auspicious way to start the new year with this encounter. Finally the snake gave up and slid away from the nest.

Female Coppersmith Barbet guarding her nest

 Both parents stayed close to the nest hole through out the afternoon while normal feeding activities only resumed in the second day after this close encounter. It was such joy and pleasure to observe this small but lovely birds.