Alternative name: Great Rhinoceros Hornbill
- Buceros rhinoceros
Identification
80–90 cm (31½-35½ in)
- Black or brown, and white overall plumage
- Large yellow and red bill and Casque
- White tail with a broad black band
- Head, back, wings, and breast black
- Belly and thighs white
- Iris-white to blue in females, red in males
- Skin around eyes-dark grey
- Feet-greenish grey
Distribution
From southern Thailand to Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.
Still occurs in many large lowland reserves but numbers reduced due to habitat loss.
Taxonomy
Forms a superspecies with Great Hornbill and has hybridized with the latter in wild and captivity.
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- B. r. rhinoceros:
- Lowlands of southern Malay Peninsula and Sumatra
- B. r. borneoensis:
- B. r. silvestris:
Habitat
Lowland and hill forest.
Occurs up to 1400m.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is a large tree hole which is sealed with the female inside, incubating the eggs. There is a small hole to allow the male to pass food through to her. After hatching the female leaves the nest and re-seals the hole until the young are ready to fledge.
Diet
Feeds mainly on fruit but takes also some small animals.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 2001. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6: Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334306
- Avibase
- Animal Pictures Archive
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rhinoceros Hornbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rhinoceros_Hornbill
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
