Malabar Pied Hornbill Species Overview and Interesting Facts

The Malabar Pied Hornbill is a majestic bird species that calls the Western Ghats mountain range home. It's a medium-sized hornbill with a distinctive black and white plumage.

Their distinctive call is a loud, nasal "kraa kraa" sound that echoes through the forests, often used for communication and mating purposes. They're also known for their intelligent behavior, often seen using tools to obtain food.

The Malabar Pied Hornbill is a monogamous species, with pairs forming during the breeding season and staying together for many years. In the wild, they can live up to 20 years, although the average lifespan is around 15 years.

For another approach, see: Malabar Grey Hornbill

The Malabar pied hornbill has a rich taxonomic history. It was first described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780.

Buffon's description was accompanied by a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. The plate caption and Buffon's description, however, did not include a scientific name.

Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Buceros coronatus in 1783 for the Malabar pied hornbill. The genus Anthracoceros, introduced by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1849, now places the species. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek anthrax, meaning "coal black", and kerōs, meaning "horn". The specific epithet coronatus is Latin for "crowned".

Here are some key taxon identifiers for the Malabar pied hornbill:

The Malabar pied hornbill has a fascinating history when it comes to its taxonomy. The species was first described by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.

The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. The plate caption and Buffon's description didn't include a scientific name, but that changed in 1783 when Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Buceros coronatus.

The Malabar pied hornbill is now placed in the genus Anthracoceros, which was introduced by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1849. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek anthrax, meaning "coal black" and kerōs, meaning "horn".

Here's a breakdown of the taxon identifiers for the Malabar pied hornbill:

The Malabar Pied-Hornbill is a medium-sized forest hornbill with striking black and white plumage and a prominent casque.

It's found in three disjunct regions within South Asia: Sri Lanka, the Western Ghats, and parts of central India and the Eastern Ghats.

The Malabar Pied-Hornbill co-occurs with the closely related Oriental Pied-Hornbill in the northern Eastern Ghats, which has a smaller body size and casque.

Its distribution overlaps with several other hornbill species, including the Indian Gray Hornbill in Peninsular India and the Great Hornbill in the Western Ghats.

The Malabar Pied-Hornbill favors riverine forests and areas below 600 m in elevation, and it also occurs in forest margins, open forests, and tall woodlands.

It's mostly arboreal but sometimes descends to the ground for dust bathing.

Like other forest hornbills, the Malabar Pied-Hornbill nests in cavities in large trees, sealing the cavities but leaving a small slit to enable feeding of the female and nestlings.

The species is threatened by loss of habitat due to habitat destruction and hydroelectric projects and is declining in parts of its range.

It's listed as Near Threatened by BirdLife International.

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The Malabar pied hornbill is a large bird, measuring 65 cm (26 in) in length.

It has mainly black plumage, which covers most of its body.

The Malabar pied hornbill's belly, throat patch, tail sides, and trailing edge to the wings are all white.

Its bill is a bright yellow color.

The casque, a distinctive feature of the hornbill, is mainly black and quite large.

Females have a unique characteristic - they have white orbital skin, which is lacking in males.

Juveniles, on the other hand, do not have a casque at all.

Adult Malabar pied hornbills weigh around 1 kg (2.2 pounds).

For more insights, see: Haliaeetus Leucogaster

The Malabar pied hornbill is found in evergreen and moist deciduous forests, often near human settlements.

In India, its range covers Central and Eastern India, along the Western Ghats, and in Sri Lanka.

It's distributed across three main regions within the Indian sub-continent, which is quite a wide range.

In Central and Eastern India, the species can be found in western West Bengal, parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, northern and eastern Maharashtra, northern Andhra Pradesh, and the north-east tip of Telangana.

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Along the Western Ghats, the Malabar pied hornbill is found in pockets along the eastern slopes and in the Konkan belt and west coast from western Maharashtra through Goa, western Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and in Kerala.

In Sri Lanka, the species occurs mainly in the low country and dry zone forests as well as home gardens.

The Malabar pied hornbill is a bird that thrives in diverse environments. It can be found in the forest around the Kaiga Atomic Power Station near Karwar.

One of the most interesting things about this bird is its ability to adapt to its surroundings. A study comparing populations over a 23-year period at Dandeli found no significant change.

These birds are frequently spotted at the township of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station near Karwar, indicating a stable and thriving population in the area.

Reproduction is a remarkable process in the life of Malabar Pied Hornbills. The female lays two or three white eggs in a tree hole.

The eggs are carefully blocked off with a unique cement made of mud, droppings, and fruit pulp. This special seal creates a narrow aperture that's just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and chicks.

As the chicks grow, they become too large for the mother to fit in the nest with them. In response, she breaks out and rebuilds the wall of the nest.

Both parents take turns feeding the chicks, ensuring their growth and development. This cooperative parenting is a vital part of the Malabar Pied Hornbill's reproductive strategy.