Blyth's Hornbill

Alternative name: Papuan Hornbill; Papuan Wreathed Hornbill

Male
Photo by martinuk
Foli, Halmahera, Maluku Utara, Indonesia, October 2009

Rhyticeros plicatus

Aceros plicatus

Identification

65–85 cm 25.6-33.5 inches, male 1190–2000 g, female 1500–2000 g.
A medium to large black Hornbill with white tail. The only Hornbill in it's range, making identification easy.

Male

Female
Photo by martinuk
Foli, Halmahera, Maluku Utara, Indonesia, October 2009

• Head and neck reddish brown vary within range from east to west from deep reddish brown to a more yellowish gold
• Beak light yellow with a dark brown base
• Casque is wreathlike with yellow and brown weaves
• Bare skin on face and throat is bluish white
• Iris and eyering red

Female

• Smaller wingspan (wing 357–410 mm compared to 398–440 mm) than male in western New Guinea
• Head and neck black
• Beak has less black around the base
• Eyes are duller than males

Juvenile

Male in flight
Photo by Mehd Halaouate
Batu Putih, Halmahera, Indonesia, October 2003

• Similar to male
• Beak smaller
• No casque
• Light blue facial skin
• Grey brown eye
• The casque is often the last feature to develop when reaching adulthood

Distribution

New Guinea, West Papua islands, Yapen, D'Entrecasteaux, the Moluccas and the Solomon Islands. Common.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 6 subspecies^[1]

• R. p. ruficollis:

• Northern Moluccas and western New Guinea

• R. p. plicatus:

• Southern Moluccas (Kelang, Seram and Ambon)

• R. p. jungei:

• Eastern New Guinea; vagrant to Fergusson Island (D'Entrecasteaux Archaepelago)

• R. p. dampieri:

• Bismarck Archaepelago (New Hanover, New Ireland and New Britain)

• R. p. harterti:

• Solomon Islands (Buka, Bougainville, Fauro and Shortland Islands)

• R. p. mendanae:

• North-western and central Solomon Islands (Choiseul and Vella Lavella south to Malaita and Guadalcanal)

This species was previously placed in the genus Aceros.

Habitat

Primary and secondary tropical evergeen forest, deciduous riverine and freshwater swamp forest. Found up to 1500 m, rarely to 1800 m.

Behaviour

Wingbeats give a loud hiss like sound.
Can roost in groups of up to several hundred birds. Departs roost in flocks of up to 45 members, that split up into family groups or pairs to forage.

Diet

Figs and other fruits, Ficus flowers, animal food, includes beach taken crabs and bee honeycomb.

Breeding

Little known in wild. Thought to lay from August to October in the west from August to May in the east. Nest in a hole in a tree, 15–30 m above the ground They have been known to nest in fig and ironwood trees. 1–2 white eggs, but 4 have recorded on one occasion. The female is fed by the male at the nest by regurgitation. The nesting cycle takes 125 days in captivity.

Vocalisation

Loud grunting sound while perched, that is shorter in alarm. Flight call is a continuous honking “ka-ka-ka-ka”.

Movement

Sometimes moves to islands outside of normal breeding range.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blyth's Hornbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blyth%27s_Hornbill

External Links

Search for photos of Blyth's Hornbill in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1