Featured Article: Malabar Pied Hornbill
Identification
Length 65 cm (25.5 in); a medium-sized Pied Hornbill.
- Black plumage with white belly
- Yellowish-white throat patch, white tail sides and trailing edge to the wings
- Bill pale yellow with black cutting edges and base
- Huge casque with projecting front edge, coloured yellow and black
- Red eyes
- Male has dark blue bare skin around eye, female white with pink tinge
- Juveniles with smaller bill, facial skin duller version of adult's
Distribution
Endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Found in the Western Ghats (SW India), Northern Sri Lanka and further north (Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal) where it meets with Oriental Pied Hornbill. The population is clearly declining and it has become rare in parts of its range, especially outside National Parks. The species seems to be most common in Sri Lanka.
