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| Fig. 4. A, Parent Red-vented Barbet Megalaima lagrandieri on the nesting hole. B–F, with different food items: B, lizard Bronchocela smaragdina; C, figs; D, fruit of Knema sp.; E, bush cricket Zabalius sp.; and F, cicada. |
Abstract
We report on the nesting biology of the red-vented barbet (Megalaima lagrandieri) in its natural habitat in Loc Bac forest (southern Vietnam, Lam Dong Province). Two active nests containing nestlings and one nest in the process of excavation were observed during 2012 and 2013. Both parents participated in the provisioning of their brood throughout the day, making a maximum of 52 daily visits with food. The nestlings’ diets consisted of fleshy fruits, insects and spiders as well as vertebrates. Plant matter was added to the nestlings’ diet from the initial days of feeding, and its proportion increased over time. We provide a first description of the red-vented barbet nesting hole and comment on the hardness of the wood. A description of the two-week-old nestlings is also provided.
Key words. Asian barbets, cavity nesting, Brinell’s test, frugivory, nestling period
Vitaly L. Trounov and Anna B. Vasilieva. 2014. First Record of the Nesting Biology of the Red-vented Barbet, Megalaima lagrandieri (Aves: Piciformes: Megalaimidae), an Indochinese endemic. RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY. 62: 671–678
