Coppersmith Barbet courtship - mating

My house is at the corner lot, close to a small stream.
Banana and papaya trees are on the river bank, apart from Bamboo Grass (Thysanolaena maxima). Naturally, this attracts a lot of birds, such as Yellow-vented Bulbul, Mynas, Glossy Starling, Black-nape Oriole, etc.

One particular bird that attracted my attention this week is Coppersmith Barbet. For two weeks I notice them to be more active with that familiar "tut-tut-tut" call. They also carry fruits/berries in their beak. So, it is the courtship mating time now. I posted here a few frames of photos that I managed to shoot. All of them only record shot quality.





The male fly in, and the female waits below.









Just to record the natural process...
Chronology of events.



18:22:34







The kiss.




18:22:43












18:22:53







Male CopperSmith Barbet, with fruits ready at his beak - as a 'gift' to his girlfriend.











hi!, are you ready?












male landed near the female to pass the fruit.




13:47:43







Female with the 'gift' in her beak.





13:47:43






The process is about to begin...





13:47:47






The male's sperm, produced in the testes, passes to the cloaca where it is stored until copulation (act of sex). The female also has a cloaca that leads from the ovaries. The female bird unfans her tail and moves it to one side while the male climbs onto her back or gets close to her. Their cloacas are pressed together and the sperm moves from the male to the female

13:47:48



For a very good photo of mating barbets, click here - by © Tan Chin Tong




13:47:49







To ensure the continuation of species.




13:47:50







This act is called a "cloacal kiss".





13:47:51






Sperm can be transferred from the male cloaca to the female in the blink of an eye - less than a second




13:47:52











13:47:52







Finished.




13:47:54







male resting, after the act.




13:47:55







Again!




13:48:03












13:48:03







Finished.





13:48:04






Here another couple

Fly in.


07:40:51












07:40:52












07:40:53













07:40:54












07:40:54







Finished, fly out.




07:40:56







Again!, with another angle...
13:48:12











13:48:14+08:00
CopperSmith Barbet, more info.

Barbet mating from the net, here, by DAISY O’NEILL of Penang.

CopperSmith nesting by Tang Hung Bun here,

and CopperSmith chick manual feeding (Input by Chiu Sein Chiong; images by Ooi Beng Yean and Phang Chee Mun) here.