Golden-throated Barbet
Psilopogon franklinii
Doi Luang, Thailand
The erstwhile kingdom of Siam - originating from Pāli and meaning the land of gold (suvannabhūmi) - is known for its tropical beaches, opulent royal palaces, ancient ruins and ornate temples displaying figures of the Buddha. It encompasses diverse ecosystems, including the hilly forested areas of the northern frontier, the fertile alluvial plains dotted with rice paddies of the central plains, the broad plateau of the northeast, and the rugged coasts along the narrow southern peninsula with sandy beaches set amid the equatorial latitudes of the Asian monsoons. These divide the country into five distinct physiographic regions: the folded mountains in the north and west, the Khorat Plateau in the northeast, the Chao Phraya River basin in the centre, the maritime corner of the central region in the southeast, and the long, slender peninsular portion in the south west.
Our area of interest, however, are the northern mountains, the southeastern continuation of the uplift process that formed the Himalayas, which extend southward along the Thai-Myanmar border and reach as far south as northern Malaysia. These long granitic ridges were formed when great masses of molten rock forced their way upward through the older sedimentary strata. Peaks average about 5,200 feet (l,600 metres) above sea level. Mount Inthanon, at 8,481 feet (2,585 metres) the highest in the country, is in northwestern Thailand, near the historical city of Chiang Mai. The city itself is overshadowed by Mount Suthep, the site of a famous Buddhist shrine and the royal summer palace. Some of these rugged limestone hills contain caves from which remains of prehistoric humans have been excavated.
This is where we head now, from the dense rain forests of the Tenasserim Mountain Range in the Kaeng Krachan National Park where the Pranburi & Phetchaburi Rivers originate, to the northern dois - a place we have already visited before in the Birds on the Doi. But this time we will focus only on Doi SanJu.
Doi Luang & Doi SanJu in close proximity to the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, is the second highest mountain in Thailand and a part of the Dan Lao Mountain range, north west of Chiang Mai, sharing the border with Myanmar. Doi SanJu, can be easily accessed from Fang town. The pristine mountain forest and almost zero traffic make it easy to view birds. The entire area is very quiet, secluded and home to rare species like Mrs. Humes Pheasant, Long–tailed Sibia, Himalayan Cutia, Black–throated Tit, Black–eared Shrike Babbler, Whiskered Yuhina, Crimson–breasted Woodpecker, Fire–tailed Sunbird to name a few.
We didn’t have the good fortune to see all the species on all the mountains, that would have been impossible, but we did rack up quite a number. The following gallery is of the Golden-throated Barbet - one of the more than 95 species I have recorded here and that too, I am told, is far from what these dois host.
And a very special shout out to my friend Easwar Subramanian for identifying every single bird and pointing me in the right direction every time. Thank you! This massive list would not have been possible without you.
A number of these birds have been published in various blogs by the National Geographic & the Wild Bird Trust and can be seen on my Publications page. Some have been painted in watercolours and can be seen in my Birds as Art Gallery and for some I have detailed blogs. The blogs, where I have them, are linked directly from the photos so click through and enjoy a gallery of the species and how they co-exist with others.
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Golden-throated Barbet
The Golden-throated Barbet (Psilopogon franklinii) is an Asian barbet native to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests between 900 and 2,700 m (3,000 and 8,900 ft) altitude. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution and stable population.
It is a large green barbet with a broad black bandit’s mask, a pale gray face, and a black-and-yellow crown. The yellow-orange throat patch is small and sometimes missed when seen poorly. Like most other barbets, it is a sluggish bird and difficult to see, usually encountered foraging quietly or sitting still in the canopy. The song is usually a long steady series of loud hiccupping two-syllabled hoots, but these sometimes sound more plaintive and whistled.
It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head and short tail. The bill is dark, and the body plumage is green, but the subspecies have different head patterns. The adult northern nominate form has a red and yellow crown, black eyestripe, white lower face neck, and yellow throat. Males and females look alike, but the juvenile is duller with a weaker head pattern.
Bucco franklinii was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1842 who described a vivid green barbet with a golden throat collected in Darjeeling. It was placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1842 who suggested to use this name instead of Bucco. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the following golden-throated barbet zoological specimens were described:
Megalaema ramsayi proposed by Arthur Viscount Walden in 1875 was a golden-throated barbet collected in the Karen Hills.
Cyanops franklinii auricularis proposed by Herbert C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss in 1919 for a barbet collected at the Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.
Cyanops franklinii minor proposed by C. Boden Kloss and Frederick Nutter Chasen in 1926 for a specimen collected in Perak, Malaysia.
Cyanops franklinii trangensis proposed by Joseph Harvey Riley in 1934 for a barbet collected in Thailand.
Molecular phylogenetic research of barbets revealed that the birds in the genus Megalaima form a clade, which also includes the Fire-tufted Barbet, the only species placed in the genus Psilopogon at the time. Barbets formerly placed in this genus were therefore reclassified under the genus Psilopogon.
Two golden-throated barbet subspecies are recognised as of 2014:
P. f. franklinii occurs in the Himalayan foothills from central Nepal to northern Myanmar, Laos and southwestern China.
P. f. ramsayi occurs from central and eastern Myanmar to the Malay Peninsula.
These barbets primarily feed on fruits and some flowers, but will also consume a wide range of insects, such as ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, beetles, moths and mantids.
With that said lets take a walk down the meandering paths of Doi SanJu and find the Golden-throated Barbet quietly perched mid-storey making it almost at eye level given the steep inclines of the mountain.
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Calls of the Golden-throated Barbet from the folded mountains from the north of Thailand.
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