Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Anthracoceros albirostris (Shaw, 1808)

≈79 cmLength893 gWeight

Adults have black-and-white plumage and a laterally flattened casque on the bill.

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Head, neck, back and upper breast black
  2. White bare skin around the eye
  3. Tail feathers white-tipped except for the central feathers
  4. Laterally flattened casque in adults

Male, female and young

Juveniles have an undeveloped casque and a smaller bill, and their black feathers lack the green metallic gloss of adults.

Voice

Crow-like calls, also harsh crackling calls and shrieks.

Where and when it's recorded

Oriental Pied Hornbill has been recorded at 363 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.

Countries and regions with the most records

ThailandMalaysiaSingaporeIndiaVietnamCambodiaNepalIndonesia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) is an Indo-Malayan pied hornbill, a large canopy-dwelling bird belonging to the family Bucerotidae. Two other common names for this species are Sunda pied hornbill (convexus) and Malaysian pied hornbill.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Oriental Pied Hornbill?

The Oriental Pied Hornbill is about ≈79 cm long and weighs around 893 g.

Where does the Oriental Pied Hornbill live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: widespread. It is most often recorded in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

When is the best time to see the Oriental Pied Hornbill?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February and March (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Oriental Pied Hornbill endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Oriental Pied Hornbill as Least Concern.

What does the Oriental Pied Hornbill eat?

Main food: Fruit.

What family is the Oriental Pied Hornbill in?

It belongs to the family Hornbills (Bucerotidae), order Bucerotiformes.

At a glance

Length
≈79 cm
Weight
893 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Fruit
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
285 mm
Tail
295 mm
Bill
160 mm
Tarsus
58 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: widespread

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Anthracoceros albirostris albirostris India to s China, Indochina and n Malay Pen.

Classification

Family
Hornbills Bucerotidae
Genus
Anthracoceros

Other birds in the genus Anthracoceros

Palawan HornbillPalawan HornbillAnthracoceros marcheiMalabar Pied HornbillMalabar Pied HornbillAnthracoceros coronatusSulu HornbillSulu HornbillAnthracoceros montaniBlack HornbillBlack HornbillAnthracoceros malayanusAbyssinian Ground HornbillAbyssinian Ground HornbillBucorvus abyssinicusSouthern Ground HornbillSouthern Ground HornbillBucorvus leadbeateriTanzanian Red-billed HornbillTanzanian Red-billed HornbillTockus ruahaeWestern Red-billed HornbillWestern Red-billed HornbillTockus kempiDamara Red-billed HornbillDamara Red-billed HornbillTockus damarensisSouthern Red-billed HornbillSouthern Red-billed HornbillTockus rufirostris
Oriental Pied Hornbill

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Hong Wenyang. ↗

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