Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill

Ocyceros gingalensis

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]

In 3 days <5%

7 Verified sightings at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]
1,575 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill

The Sri Lanka grey hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) is a bird in the hornbill family and a widespread and common endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. Hornbills are a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World.

The Sri Lanka grey hornbill is a gregarious bird found in forest habitats. The Sri Lanka grey hornbill is a large bird at 45 centimetres (18 in) in length. It has grey wings with black primary flight feathers, a grey back, and a brown crown. Its long tail is blackish with white sides, and the underparts are white. The long, curved bill has no casque. Sexes are similar, although the male has a cream-coloured bill, whereas the female's is black with a cream stripe. Immature birds have dark grey upperparts, a cream bill, and a tail with a white tip. Its flight is slow and powerful.

The female lays up to four white eggs in a tree hole blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, barely wide enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and chicks.

These birds usually live in pairs or small flocks consisting up to five birds (2 adults and... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:17

Sri Lanka · 2018

© Oscar Campbell · XC453488 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call?0:26

Sri Lanka

© Craig Robson · XC19377 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Song0:13

Sri Lanka

© Frank Lambert · XC68883 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~50%
2 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~50%
3 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
4 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
5 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
6 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 187th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Where else can you see a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill?

Only Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte], in our data

Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (7 verified sightings), 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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