It is found in Costa Rica, Guyana, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

The amount of red on the throat and chest and the width of the orange-yellow breast band vary among the subspecies.

The female's crown and nape vary from dull orange to shades of green among the subspecies.

[3] The red-headed barbet's diet has not been studied in detail, but it is known to include arthropods such as caterpillars and adult insects and fruit such as berries and (at feeders) bananas.

[3] The red-headed barbet's song has been described as "a resonant, ventriloquial, somewhat toad-like trill krrrrrrrrrrr" [1].