Aceros nipalensis
Silhouette: Charles J. Sharp and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The rufous-necked hornbill (Aceros nipalensis) is a species of hornbill in Bhutan, northeastern India, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is locally extinct in Nepal due to hunting and significant loss of habitat. There are less than 10,000 adults left in the wild. With a length of about 117 cm (46 in), it is among the largest Bucerotine hornbills. The underparts, neck and head are pigmented as a rich rufous in the male, but black in the female.
The scientific name Buceros nipalensis was coined for the rufous-necked hornbill by the English naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1829 who described several rufous-necked hornbills caught by hunters in sal forests in Nepal. The species was placed in the genus Aceros by Hodgson in 1844. The authorship of the genus name has sometimes been credited to John Edward Gray but Gray was the editor not the author of the list. The genus name comes from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), meaning "-less", and κέρας (kéras), meaning "horn", and thus, "horn-less".
The head, neck, and lower body of the male are coloured rufous, with deeper colouration on the flanks and abdomen. The middle primaries... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 2 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hlawga National Park | 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Burma) |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-necked Hornbill sighting in Namdapha National Park on a given day, based on 380 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-necked Hornbill in Namdapha National Park on a given day, against about 10% in November, the lowest month. June to September have too few records to rate.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-necked 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Rufous-necked Hornbill sightings, Namdapha National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 40%).
Same family: Bucerotidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-necked Hornbill that you can see in Namdapha National Park (family Bucerotidae, Hornbills) are Wreathed Hornbill (about 40%), Great Hornbill (about 20%) and Austen's Brown Hornbill (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-necked Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Namdapha National Park (380 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.
