The Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) is a hornbill endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. (This here is a Juvenile)
They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in some other hornbills.
They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region.
Being secondary cavity nesters (incapable of excavating their own nests), they find trees with large cavities. 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 male brings all the food needed for the female and the young.
Shot in Coorg, © Dr.Bishan Monnappa
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