Malabar Pied Hornbill

Gallery: AvianPosted March 12, 2011130 views7 comments

Dandeli in South India and its surroundings are the best places to see these endemic birds Anthracoceros coronatus in action.

Ecological notes: These birds are frugivorous and are great agents of seed dispersal in the tropical forests. They even consume fruits with toxic seeds, sometimes they ingest mud to aid in digestion.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on March 12, 2011 at 2:16 AM

Vijay ...cracker of an image ...I know how difficult its to get these bird properly on the frame ...the detail and the setting of the bird is wonderful ..well done ...and that seed is a big big bonus .....one small bit space on the left ..??

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on March 12, 2011 at 2:30 AM

Outstanding shot! Beautiful work in the blacks and whites, and your timing is exquisite.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 12, 2011 at 9:50 AM

Nice detail in this unusual bird. Great pose and the bit of food in mid-air is nice. Larger images would help with critiques, if you'd care to post them.
a little more room on the left would be nice.
sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on March 12, 2011 at 9:01 PM

Great stuff!!
Great action shot and well processed indeed.
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 13, 2011 at 12:49 AM

Wonderful shot Vijay :^) I was fortunate enough to photograph 6 of the 8 species of Hornbill found in Northern Borneo last year, so this one, though a species I'm unfamiliar with, holds great appeal for me :^)

Cheers!

Ashley

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 14, 2011 at 6:16 AM

Fantastic Vijay. Love the image quality and low angle. I've got a similar shot of a Red-billed Hornbill in Zimbabwe tossing a termite.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 14, 2011 at 12:40 PM

Wonderful timing to get this and interesting to read about the seed dispersal. Very unusual looking beak. The detail and sharpness looks really good on this smaller image, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments