ABOVE: Golden-faced Barbet (Gold Whiskered Barbet) Megalaima chrysopis, Borneo’s largest barbet, a Borneo endemic.
Of the 9 species of barbet found in Borneo, 5 species have been photographed feeding on fruiting figs next to the Belalong Canopy Walkway by Hans Hazebroek.
Barbets are more or less fig eating specialists and obviously partition the figs they feed on by the size of their bills i.e. the barbets with the largest bills obviously specialise on the largest figs and vice versa.
All the barbets photographed below were feeding on Ficus binnendijkii figs in September 2018. Ficus binnendijkii has relatively small fruit up to 1 cm diameter when ripe yet the barbets that fed on the F. binnendijkii figs ranged from Borneo’s largest barbet the Golden Faced Barbet (Gold Whiskered Barbet) 30 cm to one of the smallest, the Blue-eared Barbet (16 cm).
See also Hans Hazebroek’s February 2018 photo of Red-throated Barbet Megalaima mystacophanos feeding on Ficus subgelderi figs





Ficus binnendijkii: Belalong Canopy Walkway