Indian Grey Hornbill

Indian Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros birostris

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at Bandhavgarh National Park

In 3 days >90%

1,395 Verified sightings at Bandhavgarh National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,827 In all 12 parks
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Indian Grey Hornbill

The Indian gray hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. It has grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The horn is black or dark grey with a casque extending to the point of curvature of the horn. It is one of the few hornbill species found in urban areas in many cities where they are able to make use of large trees in avenues.

The Indian grey hornbill is a medium-sized hornbill, measuring around 61 cm (24 in) in length. The upper parts are greyish brown and there is a slight trace of a pale supercilium. The ear coverts are darker. The flight feathers of the wing are dark brown with a whitish tip. The tail has a white tip and a dark subterminal band. They have a red iris and the eyelids have eyelashes. The casque is short and pointed.

The male has a larger casque on a dark bill, and the culmen and lower mandible are yellowish. The bare skin around the eye is dark in the male, but sometimes pale reddish in females. The female has a more yellowish bill with black on the basal half and on the casque.

The juveniles lack the casque, and the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:20

India · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1088315 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:25

India · 2019

© Lakshmikant Rajaram Neve · XC455224 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:26

India · 2022

© Sathyan Meppayur · XC793610 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
2 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
3 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
4 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
5 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
6 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
7 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
11 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
12 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Indore 🇮🇳 India
~60%
2 Bareilly 🇮🇳 India
~60%
3 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~60%
4 Jammu 🇮🇳 India
~60%
5 Aligarh 🇮🇳 India
~50%
6 Lucknow 🇮🇳 India
~50%
7 Agra 🇮🇳 India
~40%
8 Chandigarh 🇮🇳 India
~40%
9 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
10 Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 🇮🇳 India
~40%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 National Zoological Park Delhi 🇮🇳 India In captivity
2 Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens 🇨🇳 China In captivity
3 Edward Youde Aviary 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Indian Grey Hornbill in Bandhavgarh National Park?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Grey Hornbill sighting in Bandhavgarh National Park on a given day, based on 1,395 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Indian Grey Hornbill in Bandhavgarh National Park?

February

In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Grey Hornbill in Bandhavgarh National Park on a given day, against about 40% in July, the lowest month. That is one of Bandhavgarh National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 400 mm in August.

What time of day is best to see an Indian Grey Hornbill?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Grey Hornbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Bandhavgarh National Park the best place to see an Indian Grey Hornbill?

Yes

Of the 12 parks where we can rate Indian Grey Hornbill sightings, Bandhavgarh National Park has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Satpura National Park (India, about 50%) and Kanha National Park (India, about 50%). All parks ranked.

Where does the Indian Grey Hornbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Indian Grey Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Bandhavgarh National Park (1,395 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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