Malabar Pied-Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus Scientific name definitions

The Malabar Pied-Hornbill is a medium-sized forest hornbill with striking black and white plumage and a prominent casque. The species is distributed in three disjunct regions within South Asia: Sri Lanka, the Western Ghats, and parts of central India and the Eastern Ghats. In the northern Eastern Ghats, it co-occurs with the closely related Oriental Pied-Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), which has a smaller body size and casque. Its distribution also overlaps with the smaller Indian Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) in Peninsular India, with the Malabar Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) and Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) in the Western Ghats, and with the Sri Lanka Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) in Sri Lanka. The Malabar Pied-Hornbill favors riverine forests and areas below 600 m in elevation, and it also occurs in forest margins, open forests, and tall woodlands, as well as agroforestry plantations and farmlands with fruiting trees in the foothills and coastal areas. During the day, it ranges widely in search of fruits, often returning to communal roost sites located along rivers. It is mostly arboreal but sometimes descends to the ground for dust bathing. Like other forest hornbills, the Malabar Pied-Hornbill nests in cavities in large trees, sealing the cavities but leaving a small slit to enable feeding of the female and nestlings. The species is threatened by loss of habitat due to habitat destruction and hydroelectric projects and is declining in parts of its range. It is listed as Near Threatened by BirdLife International.