The tinkerbirds or tinker barbets are the genus Pogoniulus of the Lybiidae, the African barbet family of near passerines, which was formerly included in the Capitonidae and sometimes in the Ramphastidae. Tinkerbirds are widely distributed in tropical Africa.

Taxonomy

The genus Pogoniulus was introduced in 1842 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye with "Le Barbion mâle" Levaillant, that is Bucco pusillus Dumont, 1805, as the type species, now the southern red-fronted tinkerbird. The genus name is a diminutive of the name Pogonias that had been introduced in 1811 by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. Pogonias is from the Ancient Greek πωγωνιας/pōgōnias meaning "bearded". The genus contains 10 species: Supposed fossil remains of Late Miocene tinkerbirds were found at Kohfidisch (Austria) but are not yet thoroughly studied. It is not clear whether they belong to an extant genus, but given the late date this may well be so.

Footnotes