Anorrhinus austeni
Austen's Brown Hornbill (Anorrhinus austeni) is a striking medium-sized hornbill, typically measuring 60-72 cm (24-28 inches) in length with a robust build. Males are characterized by their dark brown plumage with a contrasting creamy-white head and neck, bright blue orbital skin, and a distinctive pale yellowish-horn casque atop a creamy bill. Females are generally smaller, possess an entirely dark brown head and neck, and a less developed casque, often with a darker bill and duller blue orb...
Found primarily in subtropical and tropical moist broadleaf evergreen and deciduous forests, from lowlands up to elevations of about 2000 meters. They prefer primary or mature secondary forests with large, old trees suitable for nesting.
Their diet is largely omnivorous, consisting primarily of a wide array of fruits, especially figs, supplemented with large insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrates. They forage arboreally by gleaning and sallying.
Austen's Brown Hornbills are highly social and diurnal, typically active from dawn to dusk. They forage in the canopy and mid-story, employing a mix of sallying to catch flying insects and gleaning fruits from branches. These birds are cooperative breeders, living in extended family groups that d...
Austen's Brown Hornbill is a non-migratory resident species distributed across mainland Southeast Asia and parts of the Indian subcontinent. Its primary breeding range extends from Northeast India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh) and Bhutan, eastward through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, reachi...
Vulnerable
- Austen's Brown Hornbills are one of the few hornbill species that engage in cooperative breeding, where multiple individuals assist in raising the young. - The breeding female seals herself inside a tree cavity for several months, relying entirely on the male and helper birds for food. - They p...