Crested Barbet

This boldly patterned, yellow-and-black barbet is common in savanna woodland, thornveld and suburban gardens across southern Africa, where it forages on the ground and in low shrubs for fruit, insects and termites. Its long, rolling, almost mechanical trilling call is one of the most familiar sounds of the African bush and usually reveals its presence well before it is seen. It often nests in old fence posts or dead tree stumps, and pairs can be watched excavating or provisioning a nest hole at close range if approached carefully.