Great Hornbill

The great hornbill is also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, the great Indian hornbill and the great pied hornbill. Variations among populations are mainly in size and the Himalayan birds are larger than those to the south. Males are larger than females and have red eyes instead of bluish-white eyes, but females have pink orbital skin. They have large eyelashes. They have a yellow and black casque on top of their bill. The casque is concave on top with ridges along the sides that form points on the front. The casque appears U-shaped from the front. The back of the casque is reddish on females and black on males. The casque is hollow and is used by males to casque-butt in flight. 

Illustration of male great hornbill from Birds of the World. Note the black on the back of the casque and the red eye.  

Illustration of a female. Note the pinkish orbital around the eye and red on the back of the casque.

It is found in the forests of India, Bhutan, Nepal, mainland Southeast Asia and Sumatra. It prefers unlogged old-growth forests in hilly regions. 

Range of great hornbill from Birds of the World. 

I saw them twice on our visit to Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. The first was on a drive on the main perimeter road toward the far western Burapahar Range. Our guide spotted it at some distance and I had a hard time seeing it. 

The red eye indicates it is a male. 

The second time was on a drive on the main perimeter road toward the far eastern Range. There were three of them in a tree. 

 

A female with the pink orbital. 

A male with the red eye.

A female with the red back of casque.