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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
great
hornbill, great Indian hornbill, great pied hornbill,
large pied hornbill, concave-casqued hornbill |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Coraciiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Bucerotidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Buceros
(big horn) bicornis (two horns) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
great hornbill (also commonly known as the concave-casqued
hornbill) is a large bird with a very large bill,
which bears a sizable, brightly colored, horny growth
- the casque. The body is mostly black with a white
neck, wing coverts and flight feathers. |
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| SIZE: |
100-120
cm (40-48 in.); 150 cm (5 ft.) wingspan |
| MALE |
Males
grow larger than females |
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| WEIGHT: |
Averages
3 g (6.6 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Mostly
feeds on fruit; diet also includes small reptiles,
mammals and insects |
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| INCUBATION: |
25-40 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
1-2
eggs |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
35 or more years |
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| RANGE: |
Asia
and India to Thailand and south to Sumatra |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabits
evergreen and moist, deciduous forests |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
I |
| USFWS |
Lower
Risk/Near Threatened |
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| 1. |
Hornbills'
first two neck vertebrae have been fused to support
their large bill. Though its bill looks quite heavy,
is actually very light; it is made up of thin-walled
hollow cells, somewhat like a hard sponge. |
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| 2. |
This species is the largest of the hornbill species
found on the Indian subcontinent. |
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| 3. |
It is said that the wing beat of a great hornbill
can be heard more than a half mile away! |
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| 4. |
This
hornbill is able to consume as many as 150 figs
within one meal! |
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| 5. |
Hornbills
are famous for their nesting ritual. Once courtship
and mating are over, the female finds a tree hollow
and seals herself in with dung and pellets of mud.
The male gathers the pellets from the forest floor
and swallows them, later regurgitating small saliva-cased
building materials. He then gives them to the female
who stays inside the nest leaving a slit for a window
big enough to receive food and materials. For the
next 6-8 weeks the male feeds the female through
this opening. She does not emerge until she has
molted and re-grown fresh feathers and her young
is feathered. |
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| 6. |
Some
male hornbills are so exhausted after the nesting
process that they may die. |
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Because
hornbills consume a large number of insects and
small animals that are seen as pests, its future
is important for a healthy ecosystem.
Population
numbers for this species are declining in many
areas of its range because of deforestation from
logging. Due to their large size, these birds
are also hunted for food and for their casques,
which are considered trophies.
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|
|
| Austin,
O. L. Birds of the World. New York: Golden
Press, 1961. |
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|
Harrison, C.J.O., and Perrins, C. Birds: Their
Life, their Ways, their World. New York: Reader's
Digest Association, Inc., 1987.
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| Perrins,
C. M. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds.
New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990. |
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| Prozesky,
O.P.M. A Field Guide to the Birds of Southern
Africa. London: Collins Clear Type Press, 1976. |
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Birdlife
International: http://www.birdlife.org/
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| http://www.pbs.org/edens/anamalai/creatures.html |
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Sacramento
Zoo:
http://www.saczoo.com/1_about/_animals/fact_sheets/great_hornbill2.pdf |
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