The Red-headed Barbet is widely distributed across several countries in Central and South America, including Costa Rica, Guyana, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru​​. This species exhibits a striking sexual dimorphism in its plumage. Males are characterized by a vivid red head, an orange to yellow breast, and a white belly, with a white collar separating the head from the olive green back. The females, on the other hand, have a crown and nape that vary from dull orange to shades of green, with some having a black forehead. Their back is green, throat grayish yellow with a yellow to orange band below it, lower breast olive-yellow, and belly white. Both males and females show some variation among the subspecies​​. There are six recognized subspecies of the Red-headed Barbet, each with a specific distribution range. For instance, E. b. salvini is found in Costa Rica and western Panama, E. b. anomalus in eastern Panama and probably adjacent northwestern Colombia, E. b. occidentalis on both slopes of Colombia's Western Andes, E. b. bourcierii in the Andes of western Venezuela and Colombia, E. b. aequatorialis in the coastal mountains and western slope of the Andes in Ecuador, and E. b. orientalis on the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru​​.
The Red-headed Barbet primarily inhabits the interiors and borders of evergreen mountain primary forests, as well as adjacent secondary forests, with an elevational range of approximately 1,300 to 7,900 feet. This range, however, shows significant geographical variations​​. Their diet, includes arthropods such as caterpillars and adult insects, along with fruits like berries and bananas (especially at feeders)​​. Like other New World barbets, they excavate cavities in trees and sometimes in fence posts for nesting. The clutch size typically ranges from two to five, with the female incubating the eggs at night and both sexes taking turns during the day​​. The Red-headed Barbet is classified as of Least Concern by the IUCN. Photographed in the western Andes mountain range of Colombia (Cordillera Occidental).