Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill
Encyclopedia
The Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) is a hornbill
and a widespread and common endemic
resident breeder in Sri Lanka
. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine bird
s found in the Old World
.
The Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill is a gregarious bird found in forest habitats
. It feeds mostly on figs, although occasionally it eats small rodent
s, reptile
s and insect
s. The female lays up to four white eggs
in a tree hole blocked off during incubation
with a cement
made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, barely wide enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.
The Grey Hornbill is a large bird at 45cm in length. It has grey wings with black primary flight feathers, a grey back, and a brown crown
. Its long tail is blackish with white sides, and the underparts are white. The long curved bill has no casque. Sexes are similar, although the male has a cream-coloured bill, whereas the female's is black with a cream stripe. Immature birds have dark grey upperparts, a cream bill, and a tail with a white tip. Its flight is slow and powerful.
Hornbill
Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...
and a widespread and common endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
resident breeder in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s found in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
.
The Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill is a gregarious bird found in forest habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
. It feeds mostly on figs, although occasionally it eats small rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s, reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. The female lays up to four white eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
in a tree hole blocked off during incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
with a cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, barely wide enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.
The Grey Hornbill is a large bird at 45cm in length. It has grey wings with black primary flight feathers, a grey back, and a brown crown
Crown (anatomy)
A crown is the top of the head.The following birds and other animals are said to have a crown on their head:* Cranes** Grey-crowned Crane** Red-crowned Crane** Black-crowned Crane* Crowned eagle* Gray-crowned Rosy Finch* Yellow-crowned Gonolek...
. Its long tail is blackish with white sides, and the underparts are white. The long curved bill has no casque. Sexes are similar, although the male has a cream-coloured bill, whereas the female's is black with a cream stripe. Immature birds have dark grey upperparts, a cream bill, and a tail with a white tip. Its flight is slow and powerful.