Capito is a genus of birds in the family Capitonidae. They are found in humid forests in South America, with a single species extending into eastern Panama. Slightly larger than the members of the genus Eubucco, members of the genus Capito are all sexually dimorphic and thickset, and have stubby pale bills that often are tipped black. With the exception of the somewhat aberrant scarlet-crowned barbet, black, red, orange, yellow and white are the dominating colours in their plumage, and males have at least partially black backs. Typically seen singly or in pairs, they are primarily frugivorous, but also take arthropods.
Taxonomy The genus Capito was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot to accommodate a single species, the "Tamatia à tête et gorge rouge" that had been described in 1780 by the French naturalist, the Comte de Buffon. This is the black-spotted barbet that had been assigned the binomial name Bucco niger by the German zoologist Philipp Statius Müller in 1776 and is the type species of the genus. The genus name is from Latin capito, capitonis meaning "big-headed".
Species The genus contains the following 11 species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Capito auratus Gilded barbet Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela Capito aurovirens Scarlet-crowned barbet Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru Capito brunneipectus Brown-chested barbet central Amazon Basin, eastern Amazonas–western Pará states, North Region, Brazil Capito dayi Black-girdled barbet Bolivia and Brazil. Capito hypoleucus White-mantled barbet Colombia Capito maculicoronatus Spot-crowned barbet Colombia and Panama Capito niger Black-spotted barbet northeastern South America, ranging as far south as the Amazon River and as far west as the Branco RiverCapito quinticolor Five-colored barbet western Colombia and far north-western EcuadorCapito squamatusOrange-fronted barbet western Ecuador and extreme southwestern ColombiaCapito wallacei Scarlet-banded barbet south-western Loreto, PeruCapito fitzpatricki Sira barbet eastern Andes of Ucayali Department, Peru
References
Schulenberg, T., D. Stotz, D. Lane, J. O'Neill, & T. Parker III. (2007). Birds of Peru. Christopher Helm Publishers.