Brain-fever bird

...Barbets stay still in one place for a long time, and each time they sing, they raise their heads and shake their tails in a monotonous voice. In particular, African and Asian species have the habit of repeatedly singing in a monotonous, metallic, high-pitched voice during the hot daytime in the tropics, which irritates the listeners, earning them the nickname "brain-fever bird" in English. During the breeding season, they dig a nest hole in the trunk of a rotting tree with their beak, but some species make their nest hole in a bank or a termite mound, and lay 2 to 5 white eggs in a clutch directly in the bottom of the nest hole. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "brain-fever bird" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…ゴシキドリ類は，1ヵ所に長い間じっと止まっていて，ひと声鳴くたびに頭をひょいともち上げたり尾を震わせながら単調な声で鳴く。とくに，アフリカやアジア産の種は，熱帯地方の暑い昼間に，金属的でよくひびく単調な声で繰り返し繰り返しいつまでも鳴く習性があり，聞く人をいらいらさせるので，英語ではbrain‐fever bird(気を狂わせる鳥)というあだ名がつけられている。繁殖期には，朽ちた高木の幹にくちばしで巣穴を掘るが，土手やシロアリの巣塚に巣穴をつくる種もあり，1腹2～5個の白い卵を巣穴の底にじかに産む。…

※「brain-fever bird」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報