Common name: White-headed Barbet

Scientific name: Lybius leucocephalus

Local name: -

Approximate measurements:
Mass (grams): 62
Length (cm):
Wing length (mm): 91 -100
Larger sex: No difference

Distribution: The White-headed Barbet is found in to disjunct distributions. One ranges from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, and the other ranges from Sudan, Zaire, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Angola.

Status: Locally common resident.

Habitat: it is found in riverine woodlands, cultivations, open country and suburban gardens.

General habits: They are seen in groups or pairs and often perches on tree tops. Cavities or old nest holes are used as roosts.

Feeding habits: They forage in trees and bushes for fruit and also hawk clumsily for flying insects. Their diet consists of figs, cultivated fruits, termites and dung beetles. They regurgitate pellets of undigested food material.

Breeding habits: The breed in pairs or groups. The territory varies with habitat. The pair is assisted by helpers to excavate the nest cavity.
Egg laying: February to June, or July to November, depending on the area.
Nest: The cavity is excavated in a large dead tree or stub of a live tree. It is 5 - 20 m high and often on the underside of the branch.
Eggs: 2 - 3 white eggs.
Incubation: Incubation takes 16 - 20 days. All the adults of a group help incubate.
Young: Up to 4 adults have been recorded to feed the young.