28-11-2016 CHANGI, SINGAPORE - ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL (Anthracoceros albirostris)

The oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris ) is an Indo-Malayan pied hornbill, a large canopy-dwelling bird belonging to the family Bucerotidae. Two other common names for this species are Sunda pied hornbill (convexus ) and Malaysian pied hornbill.

The species is considered to be among the smallest and most common of the Asian hornbills. It has the largest distribution in the genus and is found in the Indian Subcontinent and throughout Southeast Asia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The oriental pied hornbill's diet includes fruit, insects, shellfish, small reptiles and, sometimes, small mammals and birds including their eggs.

The oriental pied hornbill is a medium size frugivore with a head-to-tail length of 55–60 cm and a wingspan of 23–36 cm. The bill measures 19 cm for males and 16 cm for females. It can weigh between 600 g and 1,050 g, averaging 900 g for males and 875 g for females. The plumage of the head, neck, back, wings and upper breast is black with a slight green sheen. The tail is black with white tips on all the feathers except the central feathers (rectories). The plumage of their lower breast, lower abdomen, thighs, under-wing and all the tips of the wings except the three basal secondaries and two outer primaries is white, as is the circumorbital skin around the eyes and on the throat skin. A blue tinge can sometimes be noticed on the throat of adults. Casques of mature A. albirostri are laterally flattened “cylinders”, which may form a protruding horn. Males and females are similar in coloration. Males can be distinguished from females by their larger body size, yellow bill, which has a black base, and bright red eyes. Females have a slightly smaller body size, a yellow bill and casque with a partly black, browned patched mandible, and grayish-brown eyes. Juvenile A. albirostris resemble the adults, but have an undeveloped casque and a smaller bill. Their black plumage lacks the green gloss found on adults.

The calls of the oriental pied hornbill have been described as crowlike sounds, braying sounds or harsh crackles and screeches.