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Great Indian Hornbill


Great Indian Hornbill
Photo Information
Copyright: Cathy Hampton (luvsdogs3) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 108 W: 0 N: 184] (586)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-05
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon Powershot S1-IS
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/60 seconds
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-08-13 21:51
Viewed: 1396
Points: 44
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This hornbill lives at a wildlife preserve in Northern California and is considered one of the ambassadors. He sat patiently by the BBQ (where chicken was being cooked... maybe too distant a relative) waiting for anyone to share a morsel!

Great Indian Hornbill
Also known as great hornbill, great pied hornbill, large pied hornbill, concave-casqued hornbill
Buceros bicornis
The great hornbill (also commonly known as the concave-casqued hornbill) is a large bird with a very large bill, which bears a sizable, brightly colored, horny growth - the casque. The body is mostly black with a white neck, wing coverts and flight feathers.

DIET:
Mostly feeds on fruit; diet also includes small reptiles, mammals and insects

LIFE SPAN:
35 or more years

RANGE:
Asia and India to Thailand and south to Sumatra

HABITAT:
Inhabits evergreen and moist, deciduous forests

FUN FACTS
1. Hornbills' first two neck vertebrae have been fused to support their large bill. Though its bill looks quite heavy, is actually very light; it is made up of thin-walled hollow cells, somewhat like a hard sponge.
2. This species is the largest of the hornbill species found on the Indian subcontinent.
3. It is said that the wing beat of a great hornbill can be heard more than a half mile away!
4. This hornbill is able to consume as many as 150 figs within one meal!
5. Hornbills are famous for their nesting ritual. Once courtship and mating are over, the female finds a tree hollow and seals herself in with dung and pellets of mud. The male gathers the pellets from the forest floor and swallows them, later regurgitating small saliva-cased building materials. He then gives them to the female who stays inside the nest leaving a slit for a window big enough to receive food and materials. For the next 6-8 weeks the male feeds the female through this opening. She does not emerge until she has molted and re-grown fresh feathers and her young is feathered.

6. Some male hornbills are so exhausted after the nesting process that they may die.

Source
scottevers7, CTP, chiliu, carper, wallhalla15, coasties, marhowie, Luc, liquidsunshine, PDP, dew77, hummingbird24, TAZ, sandpiper2 has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To coasties: Thanks!luvsdogs3 1 08-14 21:16
To ridfa: Thank youluvsdogs3 1 08-14 15:03
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Cathy,
A beautiful portrait on this hornbill. The colors are very beautiful, and nice sharp detail. I really like the nice tight closeup. Very Well Done!!
Scott

  • Great 
  • CTP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 774 W: 6 N: 1107] (3183)
  • [2005-08-13 22:58]

Amazing looking bird and Nicely done portrait.
I like the POV,BG,colours,focus,note and sharpness.TFS
CT

Wow, too strange to be true. Ori

Good POV, great colour and details.
TFS!

Hi, I really like the vivid colours and the textures are also well captured.

Great write-up - very informative.

it's a nice portrait Cathy,
this portrait of the fantastic hornbill it very good, I like the crop you made, the photo is a little dark but I like that by this one. The pov is very good and the dof is exelent, Very nice job Cathy,
gr. Jaap

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3103 W: 234 N: 5930] (20016)
  • [2005-08-14 3:08]

That is fabulous, Cathy. I love it. The colors and details are super, but mostly I love the pose of the hornbill. The POV is excellent. And a great job on blurring the background. Well done and TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • ridfa Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 89 W: 0 N: 375] (4094)
  • [2005-08-14 3:21]
  • [+]

Ce portrait de Calao est vraiment beau et original à la fois. La précision est là avec cet oeil particulièrement mis en évidence par sa couleur clair. Pourrait-on savoir dans quelles conditions cette photo a été prise ? Merci de taréponse.

A bientôt.

Good sharp detail Cathy, colours are good too. Well done, nice image.

Very nice capture with great colours and sharpness/dof . Very good composition.

Hello Cathy

Odd looking bird. Very good portrait. Nice POV with good depth of colour. Nice catchlight in the eye. Focus is a bit soft. Nice work. Thanks.

  • Great 
  • Zeno Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 475 W: 0 N: 926] (7979)
  • [2005-08-14 7:24]

Hi,

This is a very special hornbill. Never saw it before. The colors and details are magnificent.
Well done and thanks for sharing.

Zeno.

Hello Cathy! This is an excellent portrait. Very sharp and detailed, with great colors and exposure. Perfect POV and eye contact, I like this! Excellent note, Very well done.

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2052 W: 315 N: 4301] (14719)
  • [2005-08-14 10:49]

Hi Cathy, I have no time to write a decent comment. I give to you the well deserved smily.

Day thought:
"Beauty is its own excuse for being" (Emerson).

Thank you for sharing pictures and notes and for the enjoyment which they give to me.

Brilliant portrait shot Cathy,
Good detail and great POV. Nicely exposed. Well composed. good framing, good colours & Well captured, thanks for posting.
Have a good week.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2951 W: 366 N: 3779] (11763)
  • [2005-08-15 2:46]

His eye looks a little sad but with a nose like that I'd pretty p*ssed off :-)

Excellent shot Cathy, i like the composition and the colours. It's a very interesting subject and I think you did a great job all round.

Very well done.

Hey Cathy,

This is STUNNING !!!

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2005-08-15 4:21]

Hello Cathy!
Wonderful portrait.Sharpness,colors,POV,DOF,sad expression on face and composition are excellent.
TFS..:-)

A superb portrait of this hornbill, Cathy.

Excellent eye shot, colors, sharp details, and BG.

I just can't imagine the drawing board on this one...

Thank you.

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1674 W: 5 N: 2130] (11898)
  • [2005-08-15 22:24]

Beau spécimen et superbes couleurs.

Félicitations !

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2385 W: 50 N: 3186] (10922)
  • [2005-08-21 3:57]

It is not a playboy in my opinion but it is an impressive fellow ! Composition, colors, BG, DOF, details and sharpness are very good ! Thanks for sharing Cathy.

Great portrait, love that lazy-looking eye and Massive head gear.
Colours are good, exposure is spot-on and the mood is delightful.

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