Description: Rufous-necked Hornbill: size c. 120 cm; male with rufous neck, breast. Black above. Wings white tipped. Terminal half of tail white. Female all black except white wing tips and terminal half of tail. This shot is from Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh The large bill of hornbills serves a variety of functions including feeding, fighting, preening, and nest-scaling. The head is supported by strong neck muscles and strengthened by fusion of the first two neck vertebrae, unique among birds. The plumage of hornbills consists of areas of black, white, gray, or brown, with very few special developments apart from a loose crest. However, the bill, bare facial skin, and eyes are often brightly colored, with reds, yellows, blues, and greens, and the throat skin may form wattles. In all species, development of the bill and casque indicates the age and sex of individuals, supplemented in many species by differences in colours of the plumage, bare facial skin, or eyes. Males are slightly larger than females, and the shape of their more prominent casques is often indicative of the species, such as in the thin rhinoceros hornbill, Buceros rhinoceros. Each species also has its own loud and distinctive call. Most hornbills are sedentary and live as mated pairs within defended territories, which range in size from 10 hectares up to 100 square kilometres. Date: 4 July 2008, 09:08. Source:
Rufous-necked Hornbill, Aceros nipalensis. Author:
Balakrishnan Valappil.
