Coraciiformes Taxon Advisory Group -
Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthrococeros albirostris)
SSP Manager:
Description
The overall body size is approximately 60-70cm including the length of the tail. The males weigh in at approximately 900 grams, while the females weigh approximately 875 grams.
The male has black with a green tinge to the wings, back, head, neck, and upper breast. The remainder of the breast, the thighs, abdomen, underwing coverts, and the tips to all but the outermost two primaries and the basal three secondaries are white. The tail is primarily black with wide white tips to all but the two central feathers. The bill is primarily yellow with a black base on both the casque and the bill. The circumorbital skin is white with a black spot located just to the front of the eye. The throat pouch is white with a bluish tinge. The legs and feet are greenish-grey and the eyes are bright red.
The female is similar to the male in overall coloration with exception of the bill and eye color. The bill and casque are yellow with the distal half black with brown patches at the side of the mandible. The casque is slightly less convex than on the male. The eyes are brown to grayish-brown. The female is also smaller in overall body size.
The immature Oriental pied hornbill is similar in appearance to the adult birds, but is lacking the green sheen to the feathers on the upperparts of the bird. The bill is smaller overall and the casque is undeveloped. The circumorbital skin is white with tinges of pink. The eyes are dark brown.
Status
Oriental pied hornbills are locally common to abundant throughout much of their range. Some areas of the range are experiencing a decline in the population due to extensive deforestation. It is the most common of the hornbill species found in S. Vietnam.
Range
The Oriental pied hornbill can be found in a broad range from Eastern India into the Indonesian islands. The range includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Borneo.
Habitat
Oriental pied hornbills are found on the forest edges and in open moist and evergreen forests. The habitat also includes coastal, riverine, secondary forest, and selectively logged forests, offshore islands, bamboo brakes, forested islands, wooded gardens, rice paddies, and irrigated fields.
Vocalizations
Reproduction
Diet
The diet consists mainly of fruit items, but also includes various insects and small vertebrates. The pied hornbill is one of the few to eat the large Ficus aurantiacea figs, however figs are not as significant of portion of the diet as in other hornbill species. Other species of fruit consumed include palm fruit, papaw/papaya, Melanoxylon berries, oil-palm fruits, and the small fruits of the lianas plants. The pied hornbill also consumes insects that are hawked in flight, small birds such as finches and swallows, frogs, lizards, snakes, grasshoppers, and fish. Nest predation has been observed on various species of birds. The birds have not been observed drinking water in the wild.
Gallery
Bibliography
