Wreathed Hornbill

The Wreathed Hornbill is a large, mostly frugivorous hornbill widespread across South and Southeast Asian forests. Its name refers to the low, ridged casque atop the bill, formed of several raised corrugations rather than the tall solid horn seen in some other hornbill genera.

Males have a rufous-washed head and neck, blackish body plumage, and a bare yellow throat pouch crossed by a dark bar. Females have an all-black head and neck and a bare blue throat pouch without the dark bar, making the sexes readily distinguishable in the field.

Key field marks

• Low, corrugated (ridged) casque rather than a tall solid horn
• Male: rufous head/neck, yellow throat pouch with a dark bar
• Female: black head/neck, blue throat pouch, no bar
• Blackish body plumage in both sexes with a pale-tipped tail

Similar species

• Great Hornbill and Rhinoceros Hornbill: both have much larger, more prominent casques and different throat pouch coloring.
• Plain-pouched Hornbill: very similar in shape but lacks the dark bar on the male's throat pouch and has a shorter, more slender bill; ranges overlap in parts of mainland Southeast Asia.

Habitat

Wreathed Hornbills inhabit tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen, and moist deciduous forest, including hill forest up to moderate elevations.

Range

Distributed from northeastern India and Bhutan through Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, and the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra and Java.

Migration

Generally sedentary, though flocks may make seasonal altitudinal or local movements tracking fruiting trees.

Behavior

Wreathed Hornbills are often seen in flocks, sometimes numbering dozens of birds, flying between fruiting trees with heavy, deliberate wingbeats.

Voice

Calls include loud, honking or barking notes given in flight and while perched, less deep than those of the Great Hornbill.

Feeding

The diet is dominated by fruit, especially figs, making the species an important disperser of large forest tree seeds; it also takes insects and small animals opportunistically.

Nesting and breeding

As in other hornbills, the female seals herself into a tree cavity nest with mud and droppings, leaving a narrow slit through which the male provisions her and, later, the chicks with food until they are ready to break out.