The hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and
Melanesia.
They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly colored
and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible.
They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae fused together,
providing a more stable platform for carrying the bill.
With 57 species of hornbills identified globally, let's take a look at 7 of the most beautiful
hornbills in the world.
Number 7.
Endemic to the Indian island of Narcondam in the Andamans, the Narcondam hornbill has
the smallest home range out of all the species of Asian hornbills.
Reaching the length of up to 66cm, sexes within this species differ in plumage, where the
male has a rufous head and neck, black body while the females are all black.
As a resident of a very limited range, this species has had a Conservation status of endangered
since 2009.
In 2011 there was a proposal by the Indian Coast Guard to erect a radar station and a
diesel power generation station for it on the island.
This was opposed due to the threats of increased human activity and disturbance and the threat
to a number of endemic island species, including the hornbill.
Number 6.
Growing to a length of 65cm, the rufous hornbill, also known as the Philippine hornbill is endemic
to the Philippines, where it occurs in primary, mature secondary and disturbed forests.
This beautiful hornbill is sometimes called "the clock of the mountains" because of its
periodic noontime call.
Even though it is still common locally, notably in the Sierra Madre of Luzon, this species
continues to suffer from substantial hunting pressure and widespread loss of habitat,
as a result of logging and conversion to agriculture.
As of today, this species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Number 5.
Found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the great hornbill, also known as the
concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill
is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
In the wild, the great hornbill's diet consists mainly of fruits, where they obtain the water
that they need entirely from their diet of fruits.
Reaching the length of up to 120cm, these birds can seen in small parties, with larger
groups sometimes aggregating at fruit trees.
A congregation of 150 to 200 birds has been recorded in southeastern Bhutan.
This hornbill's impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures
and rituals.
Since 2018, this beautiful bird has been uplisted to vulnerable from near threatened on the
IUCN Red List, due to habitat loss and hunting in some areas.
Number 4.
With a length of about 117 centimetres, the rufous-necked hornbill is one of the largest
hornbills in the world.
Of all hornbills, this species has the northern-most extent, ranging from north-eastern India to
western Thailand and north-western Vietnam, but it is locally extinct in Nepal due to
hunting and significant loss of habitat.
While predominantly a bird of ridged and hilly forests, chiefly broadleaved forests,
these hornbill communities have been moving between one forest to another depending on
seasonally to forage from fruiting trees that change with local conditions.
With less than 10,000 adults left in the wild, this beautiful bird is listed as Vulnerable
on the IUCN red list.
Number 3.
Found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain
forests up to 1,400 metres in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and
southern Thailand, the rhinoceros hornbill can live up to 35
years in captivity.
Reaching the lenght of up to 105 cm, it is the state bird of the Malaysian state of Sarawak
and the country's National Bird.
Some Dayak people, especially the Ibanic groups, believe it to be the chief of worldly birds
or the supreme worldly bird, and its statue is used to welcome the god
of the augural birds, to the feasts and celebrations of humankind.
This beautiful hornbill faces a number of threats, including loss of its rainforest
habitat, as well as hunting for its meat, skull and feathers.
Because of this, the species was uplisted to vulnerable from near threatened on the
IUCN Red List in 2018.
Number 2.
Found in forest in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, the wrinkled hornbill
or Sunda wrinkled hornbill is a medium-large species with a length of 70 cm.
It has mainly black plumage, a blue eye-ring, and a broadly white or rufous-tipped tail.
The male and female have different head and bill patterns,
where males have bright yellow feathers on the auriculars, cheeks, throat, neck-sides
and chest, but these areas are black in the female.
Like most hornbills, this species is heavily affected by deforestation.
In fact, heavy deforestation in their forest habitat has led them to be uplisted from near
threatened to endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018.
Number 1.
Native to Indonesia, the knobbed hornbill, also known as Sulawesi wrinkled hornbill can
reach the length of 80cm, and is the faunal symbol of South Sulawesi province.
Inhabiting evergreen forest at an elevation of up to 1,800 m, it is a very colorful hornbill
where the male has rufous face and neck, orange-red eyes, and a high red casque on the top of
his bill, in contrast to the female that has a black
face and neck, a yellow casque, and brownish eyes.
As with other hornbills, the knobbed hornbill is believed to be monogamous, where the breeding
season appears to be triggered by a dramatic reduction in rainfall.
Despite being locally very common, they are threatened by habitat destruction from logging
and to some extent by hunting.
This beautiful bird is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.