The phylogenetic relationship between the toucan-barbets and the eight other families in the order Piciformes is shown in the cladogram below.

[3][4] The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).

[6] They possess large, swollen bills and lack strong sexual dimorphism in their plumage.

The prong-billed barbet is restricted to the humid highland forests of Costa Rica and Panama.

The toucan barbet is found in similar habitats in the western montane forests of Ecuador and Colombia.

Insects are more common in the diet of nestlings, and compose 40% of the food brought to the nest in toucan-barbets.