Great Hornbill

The great hornbill, or great pied hornbill, is the heaviest of the typical hornbills. Its massive yellow bill carries a large yellow-and-black casque that is concave on top, with two ridges forming points at the front, which gives the species its Latin name bicornis, two-horned. The male spreads a yellow preen-gland oil on its bill and main wing feathers, which gives them their bright yellow colour. Females are smaller than males and have bluish-white rather than red eyes. The heavy wingbeats can be heard from far away, a whooshing sound likened to a steam locomotive starting up (Wikipedia, general species account).

Great hornbills are usually seen in small parties, with larger gatherings at fruiting trees. They eat mainly fruit, figs above all, and also hop along branches taking insects, lizards, nestling birds and small mammals. Pairs are monogamous and become very vocal in the breeding season, from January to April, calling in loud duets of roars and barks. The female seals herself into a hollow in a tall old tree with a plaster made mostly of droppings and is fed by the male through a narrow slit while she incubates one or two eggs for 38–40 days and moults all her flight feathers (Wikipedia, general species account).

In India the great hornbill depends on large tracts of mature forest in the Western Ghats, the Himalayan foothills and the northeast, and its range, about 139,000 km², is moderate in size. The State of India's Birds 2023 found its long-term trend inconclusive and its current trend stable, and rates it a Low conservation priority (SoIB 2023). Because it needs big, old nesting trees, the loss of old-growth forest is the main concern.