Friday 29 March 2019

Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)

OTHER NAMES: Malaysian Pied Hornbill, Sunda Pied Hornbill
Latin Etymology: Anthracoceros ("black horn") albirostris ("white billed")
Adult male Oriental Pied Hornbill (subspecies A. a. convexusat Sungei Buloh, Singapore - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Anthracoceros albirostris convexus
Weight: 560-900g  /  Length: 55-60cm  /  Wingspan: cm
ABSENT FROM UK IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Hornbills are a distinctive group of birds found throughout the tropics of the Old World, and the Oriental Pied Hornbill is one of the most successful of the family - with the largest distribution of any species in the genus.  Unlike other species of it's family, its somewhat tolerant of human disturbance, and this has allowed it to recolonise places like Singapore, where all hornbill species had previously been extipirated.  It's enormous beak is mainly used to feed on fruit, but will also eat small animals from time to time.

Related Species:
Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Bucerotidae
Genus: Anthracoceros
SUBSPECIES: A. a. albirostris, A. a. convexus

 - Sighting Locations -
SINGAPORE - A scarce resident
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: One at at Sungei Buloh

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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