Golden-throated barbet
The golden-throated barbet is an Asian barbet native to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests between altitude. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution and stable population.
Taxonomy
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.
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.
Description
The golden-throated barbet is vivid green above with paler yellowish-green plumage below, deep blue wings and verditer underneath the tail. Its bill is dusky black, and it is black around the eyes. Its forehead is crimson and its throat orange. Its legs are greenish.It is long and weighs.