| Toucan Barbet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Range | west Andean slopes in north-western Ecuador and south-western Colombia. |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Piciformes |
| Family | Semnornithidae |
| Genus | Semnornis |
| Species | Semnornis ramphastinus |
| Conservation Status | |
 Near Threatened | |
The Toucan barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus), is a species of barbet in the Semnornithidae family. It is found humid forests growing on the west Andean slopes in north-western Ecuador and south-western Colombia. While it remains fairly common locally, it has declined due to habitat loss and trapping for the cage-bird trade.
In the past, it has been grouped with the other barbets in the Capitonidae. However, DNA studies have confirmed that this arrangement is paraphyletic; the New World barbets are more closely related to the toucans than they are to the Old World barbets. As a result, the barbet lineages are now considered to be distinct families, and the toucan barbet, together with the prong-billed barbet, is now placed into a separate family, Semnornithidae.
The toucan barbet is unusual among frugivorous birds in that it breeds cooperatively, with several helpers aiding the dominant breeding pair with incubation and raising the young.