
Photo: (c) Brodie Cass Talbott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Aceros nipalensis
Diet
Fruit from a changing series of forest trees
Habitat
Ridged and hilly forest, mainly temperate broadleaf and mixed forest at 150–2,200m; dry woodland too
Size
About 117cm
The rufous-necked hornbill is among the largest hornbills, about 117 cm long. The underparts, neck and head are rich rufous in the male and black in the female, the middle primaries and lower half of the tail are tipped white, and the rest of the plumage is glossy dark green and black. The upper bill has dark ridges that are absent in the young and increase in number with age up to about seven (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is locally extinct in Nepal because of hunting and habitat loss, and fewer than 10,000 adults are thought to remain. The nesting period is March to June in tall, broad-girthed trees, and birds move between forests seasonally to forage on fruiting trees (Wikipedia, general species account).