White-cheeked barbet
The white-cheeked barbet or small green barbet (Megalaima viridis) is a species of barbet found in southern India. It is similar to brown-headed barbet (Megalaima zeylanica). It is endemic to the forest areas of the Western Ghats and adjoining hills, in south India. Photograph taken by Mohan Kumar Kalaiah White-cheeked barbet is about 16 to 18 cm long, and have green body, brownish streaked head. It has a distinctive supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye. Like other barbets it mainly feeds on fruits, sometimes may eat insects. Like woodpeckers, White-cheeked barbets are primary cavity nesters. Both sexes excavate the nest and it can take about 20 days to complete the nest. Barbets begin breeding in December and continue to nest until May. It play an important role in forests as seed dispersal agents.
