Oriental Pied Hornbill(Anthracoceros Albirostris)
The oriental pied hornbill is a medium size frugivore with a head-to-tail length of 55–60 cm and a wingspan of 23–36 cm. The bill measures 19 cm for males and 16 cm for females. It can weigh between 600-1,050 g, averaging 900 g for males and 875 g for females. The plumage of the head, neck, back, wings and upper breast is black with a slight green sheen. The tail is black with white tips on all the feathers except the central feathers (rectories). The plumage of their lower breast, lower abdomen, thighs, under-wing and all the tips of the wings except the three basal secondaries and two outer primaries is white, as is the circumorbital skin around the eyes and on the throat skin.
A blue tinge can sometimes be noticed on the throat of adults. Casques of mature are laterally flattened cylinders, which may form a protruding horn. Males and females are similar in coloration. Males can be distinguished from females by their larger body size, yellow bill, which has a black base, and bright red eyes. Females have a slightly smaller body size, a yellow bill and casque with a partly black, browned patched mandible, and grayish-brown eyes. Juveniles resemble the adults, but have an undeveloped casque and a smaller bill. Their black plumage lacks the green gloss found on adults. They have three types of bathing activities: sunbathing, water bathing, and dust bathing.
Habitat
The oriental pied hornbill is found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Eastern and Northern India, Indonesia, Laos, North peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam and the Sunda shelf islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Within these regions, it occupies various habitat types, which include dry and semi-evergreen forests, dry and moist deciduous forests, subtropical broadleaf forests, secondary forests, plantations and woodlands
Diet
Hornbills are predominantly frugivores. The oriental pied hornbill's diet consists of wild fruits such as figs, melanoxylon berries, rambutans, palm fruit, papaya and fruits of liana plants. It will also take large insects (grasshoppers), small birds (finches) small reptiles (lizards and snakes), amphibians such as frogs, and fish. Its diet differs slightly between the breeding and non-breeding season. During the non-breeding season, oriental pied hornbills feed more on non-fig fruit such as small sized berries, drupes, arillate capsules and lianas (woody vines), however the availability of these food items is lower in the breeding season, which suggests that the species increases its habitat range during that time.
Breeding
Hornbills are generally monogamous and breed between January and June; oriental pied hornbills typically commence breeding in February. This coincides with the onset of rain depending on geographic location, and peak abundance of fruit. Hornbills are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they typically do not excavate their own nesting sites but use those created by other birds or by branches breaking off. Because hornbills rely on pre-excavated cavities, selection of suitable nest-sites within their environment has major impacts on breeding success. When females have selected and entered their nest, they seal the cavity with a mixture of saliva, mud, fruit, droppings and tree bark, leaving only a small opening through which food may be passed in. The male forages for the female and chicks, and the female feeds the nestlings. Chicks remain inside the nest with the female for several months until there are ready to fledge. Oriental pied hornbills have shown to return to their previous nest for subsequent nesting seasons.
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 the commonest Asian hornbill. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
Threats
It was recently noted that this species has been almost completely extirpated from southern China. In the Thai-Malay Peninsula, the species may be threatened by off-take for the trade in fledglings and outright forest clearance. There is some evidence that the species has traditionally been captured for the local pet trade, as historically one to two were reportedly kept in every village in at least some areas of Myanmar. The casques of Oriental Pied Hornbills are common souvenirs in the markets of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam; however, the extent of this trade has not been measured. However, this species is considered the most adaptable of the hornbills to landscape modification and thus the least threatened owing to its very wide range, small size and broad habitat preferences.
Conservation
Conservation measures underway
The provision of artificial nest space in Singapore has secured the return of the species as a nesting breeder, with 50-60 individuals in 2010.
Conservation measures proposed
Conduct research to determine the population size and trend.