Great Hornbill
The Great Hornbill is a large species of hornbill found in parts of west India and southeast Asia. The live in forest habitats where they feed primarily on fruits, especially figs.
Great Hornbills have massive yellow beaks topped with large black and yellow casques. They are social birds, usually found in groups of up to 40 birds during the breeding season. Larger groups of up to 200 birds may be found outside the breeding season.
Like other hornbill species, the Great Hornbill has a special way of nesting. The nest cavity hole is sealed with the female inside, where she remains during incubation and much of the rearing process. Once the chicks reach a certain size, the mother hornbill breaks out. The chicks remain inside to continue growing.
The Great Hornbill has a conservation status of Near Threatened. The threats it faces include loss of habitat due to logging and hunting.
Details & Statistics
- Least Concern (LC)
- Near Threatened (NT)
- Vulnerable (VU)
- Endangered (EN)
- Critically Endangered (CR)
- Extinct in the Wild (EW)
- Extinct (EX)
Conservation
The Great Hornbill is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2015 by BirdLife International. Although this species has a large range, it occurs at low densities and is patchily distributed. It may have a moderately small population and is likely to be declining moderately rapidly throughout its range; it is therefore listed as Near Threatened as it almost qualifies for listing as threatened under criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd; C1.
International Names
