Malabar Grey Hornbill

The Malabar grey hornbill is the smallest of the Asian hornbills, 45–58 cm long with a 23 cm tail, endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. It has a large, long, curved beak without a prominent casque, which distinguishes it from the Indian grey hornbill of the adjoining plains; males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, and females a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the top. It has a grey back, a cinnamon vent and a broad whitish band above the eye running down the neck (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut and coffee plantations, in pairs or small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Its loud cackling, laughing and screeching calls make it familiar to people living in the region. The female lays three or sometimes four white eggs and starts a complete moult of her flight feathers. SoIB 2023 treats it as a Western Ghats endemic and rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Moderate range of about 120,000 km² (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).