Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Bucerotiformes
Familia: Bucerotidae
Genus: Ocyceros
Species: Ocyceros griseus
Name
Ocyceros griseus (Latham, 1790)
Protonym
Buceros griseus
References
Latham, J. 1790. Index ornithologicus, sive systema ornithologiæ; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c. Volumen I: pp. i–xviii, 1–466. Londini. (Leigh & Sotheby). BHL Reference page. Original description: p. 147
IUCN: Ocyceros griseus (Vulnerable)
Vernacular names
العربية: أبو قرن مالبار رمادي
বাংলা: মালাবার ধূসর ধনেশ
Cymraeg: Cornbig Malabar
dansk: Malabargråtoko
Deutsch: Malabar-Grautoko
English: Malabar Grey Hornbill
فارسی: نوکشاخ خاکستری مالابار
suomi: Malabarintoko
français: Calao gris
עברית: קלאו מלבר אפור
magyar: Malabári szürketokó
lietuvių: Malabarinis pilkasis ragasnapis
മലയാളം: കോഴിവേഴാമ്പൽ
Nederlands: Malabartok
Diné bizaad: Biʼééʼ Łigaii Bikéyahdę́ę́ʼ tsídiidaantsxaaí łibáhígíí
русский: Малабарский ток
svenska: ghatsnäshornsfågel
தமிழ்: மலபார் சாம்பல் இருவாச்சி
The Malabar gray hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbill species. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations.[2] They move around in pairs or small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region.
Description
An adult male
The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a 23 cm (9.1 in) tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill.[3] 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. The Indian grey hornbill, which is found mainly on the adjoining plains, is easily told apart by its prominent casque, and in flight by the white trailing edge of the entire wing. The Malabar grey hornbill has 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.[4] Young birds have a dull white or yellow iris.[5][6]
Their loud calls are distinctive and include "hysterical cackling", "laughing" and "screeching" calls.[7]
Local names
சோலைக் காகா (solai kaka, Tamil, meaning forest crow); சராட்டான் (sarattaan, Kadar); செரியன் ஓங்கல் (seriyan oongal, Muthuvan, meaning small hornbill); ಕಲ್ದಲ್ ಹಕ್ಕಿ (kaldal hakki, Kannada), കോഴിവേഴാമ്പൽ (kozhi vezhambal, Malayalam), chotta peelu or dhanesh in Marathi, and gobre vaayre in Konkani.
Distribution
The species is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of India from about Nashik in the north to the southernmost hills[7][1]. The species has an elevational distribution range from about 50 m near the coast (e.g., Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra) to around 1,500 m in the mountains.[8] In the southern Western Ghats, Malabar Grey Hornbills were reported in evergreen forests between 500 m and 900 m (sporadically to 1,100 m) elevation in Kalakad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, but frequently up to 1,200 m in the Anamalai Hills further north.[9] In both these sites, the estimated Malabar Grey Hornbill density decreased with elevation, with the population density in rainforest fragments in the Anamalai Hills being additionally positively related to food tree species richness. 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.[4]
Behaviour and ecology
This hornbill is found in small groups mainly in habitats with good tree cover. Being large frugivores, they are important as seed dispersal agents for many species of fruit bearing forest trees.[10] They also feed on small vertebrates and in captivity they will readily take meat.[11]
Breeding
Molem, Goa, India Nov 1997
The breeding season is January to May. Being secondary cavity nesters (incapable of excavating their own nests), they find trees with large cavities. A study in the Anaimalai Hills showed that the species preferred nest sites that had large trees. The nest holes were usually found in large trees with hollows caused by heart-rot, where a branch had broken off.[12] Trees of the species Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia crenulata were found to hold nearly 70% of all the nests in the Mudumalai area.[13] 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. Berries, insects, small rodents and reptiles are included in the diet. Males tap the tree to beckon the female on arriving with food.[14] Berries are regurgitated one at a time and shifted to the tip of the bill before being passed to the female.[7]
References
BirdLife International (2020). "Ocyceros griseus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22682421A182384253. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22682421A182384253.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Ranganathan, J; Daniels, RJ; Chandran, MD; Ehrlich, PR; Daily, GC (November 2008). "Sustaining biodiversity in ancient tropical countryside". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 105 (46): 17852–17854. doi:10.1073/pnas.0808874105. PMC 2577706. PMID 18981411.
Ali, S. (1993). The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 0-19-563731-3.
Rasmussen, PC & Anderton, JC (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Editions. Vol. 2. p. 272.
Blanford, W. T. (1895). Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 3. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 156–157.
Baker, ECS. Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 4 (2nd ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 303–304.
Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. (1983). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 132–133.
Mudappa, D. & Raman, T. R. S. 2009. A conservation status survey of hornbills (Bucerotidae) in the Western Ghats, India. Indian Birds 5: 90–102 Archived 20 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
Raman, T. R. Shankar; Mudappa, Divya (September 2003). "Correlates of hornbill distribution and abundance in rainforest fragments in the southern Western Ghats, India". Bird Conservation International. 13 (3): 199–212. doi:10.1017/S0959270903003162. ISSN 1474-0001.
Mudappa, Divya (2000). "Breeding biology of the Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) in southern Western Ghats, India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 97 (1): 15–24. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
Abdulali, Humayun (1951). "Some notes on the Malabar Grey Hornbill [Tockus griseus (Bath.)]". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (2): 403–404. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
Mudappa, D.C.; Kannan, R. (1997). "Nest-site characteristics and nesting success of the Malabar Gray Hornbill in the southern Western Ghats, India". Wilson Bull. 102–111 (1).
Maheswaran B.; Balasubramanian P. (2003). "Nest tree utilization by the Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus in the semi-evergreen forest of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (S India)". Acta Ornithol. 38: 33–37. doi:10.3161/068.038.0108.
Abdulali, Humayun (1942). "The nesting of the Malabar Grey Hornbill". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 43 (1): 102–103. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
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