Picture of the Month - Malabar Pied Hornbill in Flight
Saturday, 13 June 2026
The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) is a striking bird to say the least, especially when it is in full flight. As you can see from the picture, it has a large casque above its upper mandible. A casque is thought to serve as a clue to others of its species about sex, maturity or even social status. The casque of the male Malabar pied hornbill is, for example, larger than the females (the one in the picture is female). The casque might also serve to reinforce the bird’s beak or even act as a call enhancer. They have been observed being used in fights between members of the same species. So, the function of a casque is more a hypothesis than a fact, but the above are the most likely reasons why birds have them. Image Credit
For me, the most fascinating aspect of the life of the
Malabar pied hornbill, which is found in India and Sri Lanka, is the way that
they raise their chicks. The female lays
the eggs in a tree hollow, which the male seals up with a home-made cement,
leaving only a small hole through which he passes food to the mother and
growing chicks. Although the bird is an omnivore, the main component of its
diet (75%) is figs. When the chicks grow
too large for the female to remain inside the cavity, she breaks out, and then
seals it back up again. She joins the
male in passing food through the little hole until the chicks are ready to
fledge. Fascinating!
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