AnimalsThe great hornbill is a very large forest bird with a huge yellow bill topped by a hollow casque. During nesting the female seals herself inside a tree hole, and the male passes food through a narrow slit. It is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Buceros bicornis
- Group
- Birds
- Diet
- Omnivore (eats plants and animals)
- Lives in
- India and South-East Asia
- Habitat
- Tall evergreen forest
- A young one is called
- chick
- A group is called
- no special name
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Aves
- Order Bucerotiformes
- Family Bucerotidae
- Genus Buceros
- Species Buceros bicornis
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The great hornbill is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.