Barbets are found in the tropical regions of the world, but do not live in Australia. These are stocky birds with strong colors and patterns, and they have large stout bills with obvious bristles. Being almost exclusively arboreal, they feed mainly on fruit and berries, but also take insects. They lay two to five white eggs in holes in trees, which they dig with their bills. There are 75 known species, most of them found in Africa.
Barbets are very noisy, some kinds repeating their duets for hours.