The Austen’s Brown Hornbills (Anorrhinus austeni) is a species of hornbill found in forests from north-eastern India and southern China and south to Vietnam and northern Thailand.
It inhabits the deciduous and evergreen forests from lowland plains to the edge of pine and oak forests in hills, but mainly in the hill forest. It occurs in territorial groups of 2-15. The best place to see this species is the Namdapha National Park, Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh.
It is often included as a subspecies of Tickell’s Brown Hornbill. The name commemorates the naturalist Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen.
Description
It is a medium-sized hornbill, brown with a white-tipped tail. The male has white cheeks and throat, a pale creamy bill, and rufous-brown underparts. Female with head and throat dark.
Diet / Feeding
Austen’s Brown Hornbills feed on fruit and small animals; its diet includes many species of fruits, together with many arthropods, bats, snakes, lizards, snails, earthworms, and chicks and eggs of other birds.
Breeding / Nesting
It is a cooperative breeder, with a dominant breeding pair, male helpers, and additional females. They nest in natural cavities or in old holes of the Great Slaty Woodpecker in India.
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