Narcondam Hornbill

Narcondam Hornbill
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Coraciiformes
Family:	Bucerotidae
Genus:	Rhyticeros
Species:	R. narcondami
Binomial name
Rhyticeros narcondami Hume, 1873
Location of Narcondam Island
Synonyms
Aceros narcondami Rhytidoceros narcondami Rhyticeros plicatus narcondami

The Narcondam Hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami) is a species of hornbill in the Bucerotidae family. It is endemic to the Indian island of Narcondam in the Andamans. Males and females have distinct plumages.

Description

Head of a female (C P Cory, 1901)

The males and females differ in plumage. The male has a rufous head and neck, black body and upper parts glossed with green. Females are all black. There is a bluish white neck patch and the tail is white in both sexes. Both males and females have a bill with a few folds on the upper side towards the base of the upper mandible. The skin around the eye is bluish. The iris of the male is orange red while the female has a olive brown with a pale yellow ring. The bill is waxy and the furrows of the casque are brownish. The bill is pinkish towards the base. The legs are black and the sole is yellow.^[2][3]

Adults have a ka- ka- ka call in flight and a ko ... kokoko..ko..kok.. kok.. call at the nest. The young in the nest produce feeble chew calls. Courtship involves ritual feeding. They sometimes mob White-bellied Sea Eagle that fly too close. The favoured nesting trees are Sideroxylon and Sterculia species.^[4][5]

The species was described by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873.^[6]

Narcondam hornbill photographed in 2010

Distribution and status

The entire population (estimate of about 200 birds in 1905^[7] and 1984) is restricted to the single island of Narcondam in the Andaman Island chain. The island is clothed in forests and rises to a height of about 2300 feet above sea level and is largely devoid of human presence.^[8] The island is often hit by cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal. In 2000, an estimate of 434 birds was made for the population with a density of 54^[9] to 72 birds per square kilometre on the island with an area of about 6.8 square kilometres.^[10] Some human presence on the island has also been noted. Since 2009 it has had a Conservation status of endangered.^[11] A nest site density of 2.8 pairs per square kilometer has been estimated.^[12]

Birds have been maintained in captivity although they have not been bred. In 1972, S. A. Hussain visited Narcondam Island and captured two adult hornbills and their chicks. The two chicks were taken to Bombay as the male died on the ship journey and the female escaped in Madras, never to be found again. The chicks lived for about 6 years and with age the female showed aggression towards the male sibling and in one accident the injury inflicted on the male resulted in death.^[4]

References

1. ^ BirdLife International (2008). Aceros narcondami. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 February 2009.
2. ^ Ali, S & SD Ripley (1983). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4 (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 139. 
3. ^ Cory,CP (1902). "Some further notes on the Narcondam Hornbill Rhytidoceros narcondami". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 14 (2): 372. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Hussain,SA (1984). "Some aspects of the biology and ecology of Narcondam Hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 81 (1): 1–18. 
5. ^ Blanford, WT (1896). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 3. Taylor and Francis, London. p. 149. http://www.archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin03oate#page/149/mode/1up/. 
6. ^ Hume AO (1873). "Novelties". Stray Feathers 1: 411. http://www.archive.org/stream/strayfeathersjou11873hume#page/411/mode/1up/. 
7. ^ Osmaston, BB (1905). "A visit to Narcondam". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 16 (4): 620–622. 
8. ^ St. John J H (1898). "Some notes on the Narcondam hornbill, Etc. (Rhytidoceros narcondami)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 12: 212–214. http://www.archive.org/stream/journalofbombayn121900bomb#page/212/mode/1up/. 
9. ^ SACON. "Roosting ecology and diet of the Narcondam Hornbill Aceros narcondami at Narcondam Island Sanctuary, A & N Islands, India". Annual Report 2002-2003. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. pp. 11–12. http://www.archive.org/stream/SACON2002/SACON2002-3#page/n15/mode/1up. 
10. ^ Yahya, H. S. A.; Zarri, A. A. (2002). "Status, ecology and behaviour of Narcondam Hornbill (Aceros narcondami) in Narcondam Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". J Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 99 (3): 434–445. 
11. ^ Hussain,SA (1991). "Some urgent considerations for the conservation of Narcondam Island". Newsletter for Birdwatchers 31 (5&6): 6. http://www.archive.org/stream/NLBW31_56#page/n6/mode/1up. 
12. ^ Datta, A & GS Rawat (2004). "Nest-site selection and nesting success of three hornbill species in Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India: Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis, Wreathed Hornbill Aceros undulatus and Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris". Bird Conservation International 14: S39-S52. doi:10.1017/S0959270905000213.