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You are here: / / / ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL
ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL
Body:55-60 cm.
Wingspan:23-36 cm.
Bill:Males 19 cm.
Females 16 cm.
Weight:Males 600-1,050 g.
Females 875 g.

ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL

ANTHRACOCEROS ALBIROSTRIS

Description:

The oriental pied hornbill is a medium size bird with a head-to-tail length of 55-60 cm and a wingspan of 23-36 cm. The bill measures 19 cm for males and 16 cm for females. They can weigh between 600 g and 1,050 g, averaging 900 g for males and 875 g for females. The plumage of the head, neck, back, wings and upper breast is black with a slight green. The tail is black with white tips on all the feathers except the central feathers. The plumage of lower breast, belly, thighs, under-wing and all the tips of the wings is white. Males and females are similar in coloration. Males can be distinguished from females by their larger body size, yellow bill which has black base and bright red eyes. They are listed as ‘Least Concern’ by IUCN Red List.

Did you know...?

…that they are very noisy and often call with squeals and chuckles; mostly their call is a cackling kek-kek-kek-kek?

Diet:
The oriental pied hornbill feeds on fruit such as figs, rambutans and palm fruit and also feeds on insects and small reptiles.

Habitat:
They are found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Eastern and Northern India, Indonesia, Laos, North peninsular Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam and the Sunda shelf islands. Their natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, secondary forests, plantations and woodlands.

Reproduction

Hornbills are generally monogamous and breed between January and June; oriental pied hornbills typically commence breeding in February. This coincides with the onset of rain depending on geographic location, and peak abundance of fruit. Hornbills are secondary cavity nesters, they typically do not excavate their own nesting sites but use those created by other birds or branches breaking off. When females have selected and entered their nest, they seal the cavity with a mixture of saliva, mud, fruit, dropping and tree bark, leaving only a small opening through which food may be passed in. The male forages for the female and chicks, and the female feeds the nestlings. Chicks exist inside the nest with the female for several months until there are ready to fledge. Oriental pied hornbills have shown to return to their previous nest for subsequent nesting seasons.

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