A Malabar Grey Hornbill enjoying a fig!
These hornbills are endemic species in the Malabar region - a large mega biodiversity hotspot hosting an amazing diversity of wildlife in the South Western part of India. These are the most common hornbills in the region and are well known for their cacophonic cackling and laughing calls which are quite loud and sound totally crazy. I think they are also the smallest of the 5 species of Hornbills found there.
We sighted a fruiting fig tree in a timber depot. It was a very large tree spanning a wide area and the tree was full of figs. And enjoying those fruits were a good variety of birds - Malabar Hornbills, Malabar Pied Hornbills, Coppersmith Barbets, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Malabar Barbet, White-eyes and few other species. The tree is ripe at the right season for these birds which are or had just started nesting. So the tree is easy food for many of them.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, faves, feedback and for reading the long writeup!
A Malabar Grey Hornbill enjoying a fig!
These hornbills are endemic species in the Malabar region - a large mega biodiversity hotspot hosting an amazing diversity of wildlife in the South Western part of India. These are the most common hornbills in the region and are well known for their cacophonic cackling and laughing calls which are quite loud and sound totally crazy. I think they are also the smallest of the 5 species of Hornbills found there.
We sighted a fruiting fig tree in a timber depot. It was a very large tree spanning a wide area and the tree was full of figs. And enjoying those fruits were a good variety of birds - Malabar Hornbills, Malabar Pied Hornbills, Coppersmith Barbets, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Malabar Barbet, White-eyes and few other species. The tree is ripe at the right season for these birds which are or had just started nesting. So the tree is easy food for many of them.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, faves, feedback and for reading the long writeup!