Great hornbill in West Bengal, India

© Debapratim Saha/Minden Picture

Info. Great hornbill in West Bengal, India

The great hornbill is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. The first thing you might notice about this bird is its bright yellow helmet (called a casque) on top of its long, curved beak. The back of the casque is reddish in females, while the underside of the front and back of the casque is black in males. Hornbills sometimes fly high over forests, and it is said you can hear the flapping of their wings from 800 metres away. They can also be a monkey’s best friend – hornbills will eat insects that annoy monkeys, and in return the monkeys give warning calls to the birds when they see predators or humans.