Great Hornbill

Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis was seen twice today, the only sightings of this amazing bird on the tour. It was the first time that I had seen this species since my second trip to Nepal in 1996 when three birds were flying across the marshes at Chitwan National Park. It was unfortunate that this bird was high in the tree and partially covered at all times but the photo gives some idea of the size and key features: the massive bill; white iris of a female bird; white tail with a black subterminal band; white wing bars and white trailing edge to the wing.

Great Hornbill lives in mature broad leaved evergreen and moist deciduous forest. It tends to be arboreal but occcasionally comes to the ground to feed. The species is considered to be near threatened by BirdLife because although it has a huge breeding range of over 10 million square kilometres in the Indian subcontinent and south east Asia, it occurs at low density with an estimated population of between 13,000 and 27,000 birds.

Reference: BirdLife; Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp (1998) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent p.397, published by Helm.