Buceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758 - Great Hornbill

Subspecies in India

This is also known as the Great Pied Hornbill and Great Indian Hornbill.
 
This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).

 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology


This species is quite uncommon. It inhabits well wooded evergreen and deciduous forests of the Indian Subcontinent (i.e India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar) and the Southeast Asian countries (i.e Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam) from the sea level up to 2000m. In India, it is mostly found in the Himalaya and the Western Ghats, it breeds during March, December, and January. It forages mostly on figs and also preys on small animals (BirdLife International 2018).
 

Conservation Status:

 

 

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


According to the IUCN Red List Assessment, the population of this species is declining, with the current population estimate of 13,000-27,000 individuals. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat degradation due to deforestation and large-scale agriculture. Adult survival is also possibly low due to hunting for meat, medicines, and feather (BirdLife International 2018).
 

 

 

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh1
Assam323
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala1
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra1164
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu2
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal1
Total6436141
BirdLife International 2018. Buceros bicornis . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22682453A131870948. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22682453A131870948.en. Accessed on 08 February 2020.
 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Buceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758 – Great Hornbill. In Satose, V., A. Bayani, V. Ramachandran, P. Roy, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 2.17. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.birdsofindia.org/buceros-bicornis, accessed 2024/12/12.