The Barbets are common to Asia however the white cheeked barbet is found only in the southern parts of India. You often hear them rather than see them because of their color. They can be hard to view as they live in wooded areas among the dense foliage. Since they are frugivorous meaning they eat both insects and fruits I find them commonly on the wild fig (ficus ) trees. The banyan or the sacred fig here. Nonetheless, I have also seen them picking fruits from over grown Ficus benjamina trees which are pretty common here on the roadsides.
In all the time I have been observing these birds it has been hard to watch their nesting patterns. I have seen the birds making holes in the trees. but it is hard to observe beyond this point even though I have seen these birds use the same nesting holes for so many seasons.
These birds have a very distinctive kutroo kutroo call. They seem to get busy with the first rays of the sun even before you see the sun itself. They loves eating the fruits of any kind of ficus, but I do not see them feast on the pawpaws and other fruits which the crows or other birds love.
It feels very special for me to know that the white cheeked Barbet is unique to my side of the globe. However, there are other kinds of barbets which are found all around the country.
I have seen the brown headed barbet in the woods which is pretty similar to the white cheeked ones, except that the white streaks across the face is missing. I have spotted the Malabar barbet with its red face during my trek in the woods in my neighboring state. However, I have never been able to capture them as these bird hide away from humans among the foliage of the trees.
