The Story
I photographed this female Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus) at the Raudal del Guayabero, near San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia, in February 2021. It is a thickset New World barbet about 20 centimeters long, with a large head and a stubby bill. The upperparts, wings, tail and mask are mainly black, the belly is pale yellow with black streaking on the flanks, and the throat ranges from red to orange depending on the subspecies. The female resembles the male. The New World barbets are close relatives of the toucans. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/350 sec, f/11, ISO 6400. The Raudal del Guayabero is a narrows where the Guayabero River runs between the Serranía de La Lindosa and the Serranía de la Macarena, about 38 kilometers by fast boat from San José del Guaviare.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus) belongs to the family Capitonidae (New World Barbets) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List