Malabar Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros Griseus)
It is a large bird, but at 45-58 cm in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a 23 cm tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on the outer branches of large fruiting trees.
They have brown-grey wings, a white carpal patch and black primary flight feathers tipped with white. They have a grey back and a cinnamon vent. The long tail is blackish with a white tip, and the underparts are grey with white streaks. The long curved bill has no casque. Immature birds have browner upperparts and a yellow bill. Young birds have a dull white or yellow iris.
Habitat
The species is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of India from about Nashik in the north to the southernmost hills. The species has an elevational distribution range from about 50 m near the coast (e.g., Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra) to around 1,500m in the mountains. In the southern Western Ghats, they were reported in evergreen forests between 500-900m (sporadically to 1,100 m) elevation in Kalakad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, but frequently up to 1,200m in the Anamalai Hills further north. The species is found mainly in dense forest habitats; the thinner dry forest habitat of the plains is typically occupied by the Indian grey hornbill. The Sri Lanka grey hornbill was included with this species in the past, but is now considered distinct.
Diet
Being large frugivores, they are important as seed dispersal agents for many species of fruit bearing forest trees. They also feed on small vertebrates and in captivity they will readily take meat.
Breeding
The breeding season is January to May. Being secondary cavity nesters (incapable of excavating their own nests), they find trees with large cavities. The nest holes were usually found in large trees with hollows caused by heart-rot, where a branch had broken off. The species is monogamous, and the same nest sites are used by the pair year after year. The female incarcerates herself within the cavity by sealing its entrance with a cement made from her droppings. The female then lays three or sometimes four white eggs and begins a complete moult of her flight feathers. The entrance to the nest retains a narrow aperture through which the female voids excreta and receives food from the male. The male brings all the food needed for the female and the young. Males tap the tree to beckon the female on arriving with food. Berries are regurgitated one at a time and shifted to the tip of the bill before being passed to the female.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Least Concern(LC). The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be locally common in some small reserves. The population is suspected to be in decline locally owing to ongoing habitat destruction.
Threats
The main threat to this species is deforestation. Deforestation driven by agricultural conversion in the northern part of the range is thought to be driving some declines in the species's population in this region
Conservation
There are currently no conservation actions in place.