Blue-throated Barbet : a colour plate from 1961

In the days when colour printing was extremely expensive, the Avicultural Society had special appeals for funds to support the appearance in Avicultural Magazine of the occasional colour plate. A well-known bird artist was then commissioned. Although the whole run of the Society’s magazines can be found online, the plates rarely see the light of day. Therefore I decided to show one, now and again, on this site. This is the 5th in the series. 

– – – – – – – – – –

This plate illustrates an article by the artist, David Morrison Reid Henry (1919-1977), writing from Woodford Green in Essex.

The Blue-throated Barbet (Psilopogon asiaticus) is found at heights from 200 to 2000 metres. It occurs from northern Pakistan and India through Nepal and Bhutan to Burma and China then south into Thailand, Laos and northern Vietnam. We have seen this bird in the wild in Assam and in Bhutan.

The Asian Barbets (family Megalaimidae) are mainly forest-dwelling birds. They eat fruit, especially figs, invertebrates and any small lizard that may be spotted.

Avicultural Magazine 67, 1961