Crested Barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii)

With its thick bill and very colourful plumage, the Crested Barbet is a distinctive and unmistakable bird.  It has a large range across most of southeastern Africa.

(Crested Barbet at Sabi Sands Reserve, South Africa)

It frequents gardens and parks, plantations, woodlands, riverine bushveld, tree savannahs and watercourses. It is usually seen at altitudes of 200 to 1800 metres.  They are sedentary in range and only perform short dispersions along watercourses in dry regions.

They are often seen alone or in pairs, hopping on the ground, warily foraging for food or probing bark crevices and lichen on trees.  They will frequent urban bird feeders.  Their flight is ungainly and they are only capable of flying short distances.  They are territorial and will chase off nest competitors, such as honeyguides and doves, and other birds entering into their territory.

The scientific species name for the Crested Barbet is derived from the surname of the French naturalist, François Levaillant and this bird is sometimes referred to as Levaillant’s Barbet. 

Despite its gaudy appearance, the Crested Barbet is usually very well camouflaged in its natural environment.

Where to begin...

I was first bitten by the bird photography bug during a holiday to South Africa in 2010.   It all started with a Lilac-breasted Roller - to me this was a wonderful, exotic and unusual bird.  Coming from Europe I'd never seen anything like it in the wild before.  Turns out that they are not that unusual, yet I had to capture an image since there was no guarantee that I would see one again.  After that it snow-balled, and I now seek any opportunity to catch a permanent image of any bird species, no matter how mundane or taken for granted it may be.  This of course leads to the next challenge, seeing birds is one thing, taking a good photograph is another.  I'll never forget the time in Kenya when I was going to dinner at our lodge only to find a Giant Kingfisher just sat on the fence.   Did I have my camera with me?  Of course not!  To this day the Giant Kingfisher eludes me, oh the lost opportunities!  Even if you do get a good image there is often the challenge of identification - differentiating female warblers or the complexity of gull identification can be a minefield.  Finally there's the personal challenge of always trying to get that better shot with better composition, better catch-light, better focus, better depth-of-field.  Maybe it's just my obsessive personality but you will be amazed at how addictive this "hobby" can become.

So, through this blog, please join me on my journey.  I've got nearly four years of back-log photos to selectively post and share and, hopefully, many new adventures and tales to tell.

In the meantime, here's where it all began - with the Lilac-breasted Roller at Kruger National Park in South Africa in February 2010.