Previously the three barbet families were subsumed under the Capitonidae, known in Chinese as the 须䴕科 xū-liè kē or 'bearded woodpecker family'. Howard and Moore 2003 place all barbets and toucans (related to the American barbets) in the large Ramphastidae family (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 split the African, American, and Asian barbets and the toucans into separate families. The Asian barbets belong to Megalaimidae (known in Chinese as the 拟啄木鸟科 nǐ-zhuómù-niǎo kē 'pseudo-woodpecker family'; in Japanese as the オオゴシキドリ科 ō-go-shiki-dori ka 'large five-coloured bird family'). |
General
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin readings reflect standard Mandarin usage; for some dialect alternative names it may be of little practical use, especially for South China. Many Korean glosses are highly tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.
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 has now officially adopted a variant of the Mainland name.
Another name for the barbets is 须䴕 or 'bearded woodpecker'.
Species names
| MEGALAIMINAE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
EAST |
SOUTH | NORTH |
||||
| Megalaima | ||||||||
Latin |
English | Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Megalaima virens  |
Great barbet | 大拟啄木鸟 (大擬啄木鳥) 'large pseudo peck-wood 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' |
Chim Thầy chùa lớn 'large bonze bird' Chim Cu rốc lớn 'large cu rốc bird' (13) |
||||
Megalaima lineata |
Lineated barbet | 绿拟啄木鸟 (綠擬啄木鳥) 'green pseudo peck-wood bird' (1, 2, 3) or 斑头绿拟啄木鸟 (斑頭擬啄木鳥) 'stripe-headed green pseudo peck-wood bird' (Alternative in 1, 3) 绿拟䴕 (綠擬鴷) 'green pseudo-woodpecker' (4)  Note |
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' |
Chim Thầy chùa bụng nâu 'brown-bellied bonze bird' Chim Cu rốc bụng nâu 'brown-bellied cu rốc bird' (13) |
||||
| Megalaima faiostricta |
Green-eared barbet Lineated barbet | 黄纹拟啄木鸟 (黃紋擬啄木鳥) 'yellow-fine-patterned pseudo peck-wood 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' |
Chim Thầy chùa đầu xám 'grey-headed bonze bird' Chim Cu rốc đầu xám 'grey-headed cu rốc bird' (13) |
||||
| Megalaima franklinii |
Golden-throated barbet | 金喉拟啄木鸟 (金喉擬啄木鳥) 'gold-throated pseudo peck-wood 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' |
Chim Cu rốc đầu vàng 'yellow-headed cu rốc bird' |
||||
| 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 peck-wood 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-peck-wood' Taiwan former official: (五色鸟) 五色鳥 'five-coloured bird' Note |
山拟啄木鸟 (擬啄木鳥) 'mountain pseudo peck-wood bird' (6) |
ゴシキドリ (五色鳥) go-shiki-dori 'five-coloured bird' |
Chim Cu rốc trán vàng 'yellow-foreheaded cu rốc bird' |
||
Latin |
English | Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
| Megalaima asiatica |
Blue-throated barbet | 蓝喉拟啄木鸟 (藍喉擬啄木鳥) 'blue-throated pseudo peck-wood 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' |
Chim Cu rốc đầu đỏ 'red-headed cu rốc bird' |
||||
| Megalaima australis |
Blue-eared barbet | 蓝耳拟啄木鸟 (藍耳擬啄木鳥) 'blue-eared pseudo peck-wood 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' |
Chim Cu rốc đầu đen 'black-headed cu rốc bird' |
||||
| Megalaima haemacephala |
Coppersmith barbet Crimson-breasted barbet | 赤胸拟啄木鸟 (赤胸擬啄木鳥) 'red-breasted pseudo peck-wood 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 peck-wood' |
ムネアカゴシキドリ (胸赤五色鳥) mune-aka go-shiki-dori 'red-breasted five-coloured bird' |
Chim Cu rốc cổ đỏ 'red-throated cu rốc bird' |
|||
