Bird Guide

Indian Grey Hornbill vs Malabar Grey Hornbill

Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris)

Indian Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros birostris

Large375 gWoodland

The Indian grey hornbill is a medium-sized hornbill, measuring around 61 cm (24 in) in length. The upper parts are greyish brown and there is a slight trace of a pale supercilium. The ear coverts are darker. The flight feathers of the wing are dark brown with a whitish tip. The tail has a white tip and a dark subterminal band. They have a red iris and the eyelids have eyelashes. The casque is short and pointed. The male has a larger casque on a dark bill, and the culmen and lower mandible are yellowish. The bare skin around the eye is dark in the male, but sometimes pale reddish in females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: J.M.Garg · CC BY 3.0
Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus)

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros griseus

Medium292 gForest

The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a 23 cm (9.1 in) tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on the outer branches of large fruiting trees.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Malabar Grey Hornbill
Recorded by Sudipto Roy · Song · Molem National Park, Goa, India · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dhruvaraj S from India · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Indian Grey Hornbill and Malabar Grey Hornbill.