Narcondam hornbill
| Narcondam hornbill | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Bucerotiformes |
| Family: | Bucerotidae |
| Genus: | Rhyticeros |
| Species: | R. narcondami |
| Binomial name | |
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Rhyticeros narcondami Hume, 1873 |
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| Location of Narcondam Island | |
| Synonyms | |
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Aceros narcondami |
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Aceros narcondami
Rhytidoceros narcondami
Rhyticeros plicatus narcondami
The Narcondam hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami) is a species of hornbill in the Bucerotidae family. It is endemic to the Indian island of Narcondam in the Andamans. Males and females have a distinct plumage. The Narcondom hornbill has the smallest home range out of all the species of Asian hornbills.
The Narcondam hornbill is a small hornbill at 66 cm (26 in) long. The sexes differ in plumage. The male has a rufous head and neck, black body and upper parts glossed with green. Females are all black. There is a bluish white throat patch and the tail is white in both sexes. Both sexes have a bill with a few folds on the upper side towards the base of the upper mandible. The skin around the eye is bluish. The iris of the male is orange red while the female has an olive brown with a pale yellow ring. The bill is waxy and the furrows of the are brownish. The bill is pinkish towards the base. The legs are black and the sole is yellow.
The species was described by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873. The Narcondam Hornbill is placed in the genus Rhyticeros which is found only in Asia. Molecular evidence suggests that hornbills originated in Africa. Closely related species include species like wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus) and Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus).
Adults have a ka- ka- ka call in flight and a ko ... kokoko..ko..kok.. kok.. call at the nest. The young in the nest produce feeble chew calls.
Nine species of fruits have been explicitly recorded in their diet. Like other hornbills, they also consume invertebrates and occasionally feed on small reptiles. They sometimes mob white-bellied sea eagles that fly too close. Being predominantly fruit eaters, they play an important role in the seed dispersal of figs and other plant species. Figs are important in the ecology of many other insular hornbill species and are a major factor determining the distribution patterns of hornbills in forests.
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Wikipedia