Finding the Zambian Barbet near Lusaka
The bird on Zambia’s One Kwacha Coin – A True Zambian Bird
By Andrew Mbenjile
The bird on the Zambian K1 coin is called the Zambian Barbet (Lybius chaplini). This bird was named in honor of Sir Francis Drummond Percy Chaplin, a former colonial governor. The species was renamed to emphasize its status as Zambia’s only true endemic bird species.
The Zambian Barbet is listed as Vulnerable under the IUCN classification system for endangered species. This is because the population has declined due to the degradation of its specialized habitat by agricultural and urban expansion and fuelwood collection over the past decades.
On the 8th of April 2022, the BWZ team embarked on an ambitious expedition dabbed as “The Barbet search.” The purpose of this trip was to try and look for the Zambian Barbet, which has not been sighted in a long time in its previous sighting locations. After calling the Zambian Barbet using an app, a pair of these early birds responded and were spotted along Leopard’s hill road in Lusaka at exactly 08:19 hrs.
All binoculars went up for verification and cameras shot out all in a quest to provide pictorial evidence! Our first attempt was unsuccessful as the birds flew away due to the noise we made out of excitement.
We tried to call again, and surprisingly the birds responded for the second time, perched for approximately 10 minutes responding to the call with a harsh chatter and high-pitched thrill. This time, we were more composed and ready to take the shots, which we did.
Bird sightings and monitoring contribute to our broader conservation and research work. You know the rules; See It, Capture It!
We did!
