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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Narcondam hornbill
| image = Rhyticeros narcondami - Rohit Naniwadekar - 61708581.jpeg
| image_caption = Male (front) and female (back)
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Rhyticeros narcondami'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T22682531A182554475 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22682531A182554475.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| genus = Rhyticeros
| species = narcondami
| authority = [[Allan Octavian Hume|Hume]], 1873
| synonyms = ''Aceros narcondami''<br/>''Rhytidoceros narcondami''<br/>''Rhyticeros plicatus narcondami''
| range_map = NarcondamMapSmall.svg
| range_map_caption = Location of Narcondam Island
}}

The '''Narcondam hornbill''' ('''''Rhyticeros narcondami''''') is a species of [[hornbill]] in the family [[Bucerotidae]]. It is [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[India]]n island of [[Narcondam]] in the [[Andamans]]. Males and females have a distinct [[plumage]]. The Narcondam hornbill has the smallest home range out of all the species of Asian hornbills.

==Description==
[[File:NarcondamHornbillCory.jpg|thumb|left|Head of a female (C P Cory, 1901)]]
The Narcondam hornbill is a small hornbill at {{Convert|66|cm|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=hbk/> The sexes differ in [[plumage]]. The male has a rufous head and neck, black body and upper parts glossed with green. Females are all black. There is a bluish white throat patch and the tail is white in both sexes. Both sexes have a bill with a few folds on the upper side towards the base of the upper mandible. The skin around the eye is bluish. The iris of the male is orange red while the female has an olive brown with a pale yellow ring. The bill is waxy and the furrows of the [[:wikt:casque|casque]] are brownish. The bill is pinkish towards the base. The legs are black and the sole is yellow.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author=Ali, S|author2=SD Ripley|name-list-style=amp| year=1983 | title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=139}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Cory, CP |year=1902|title= Some further notes on the Narcondam Hornbill ''Rhytidoceros narcondami''|journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=14|issue=2|page= 372|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30158033}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
The species was described by [[Allan Octavian Hume]] in 1873.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/stream/strayfeathersjou11873hume#page/411/mode/1up/|author=Hume AO|year= 1873|title=Novelties|journal=Stray Feathers|volume=1|page=411}}</ref> The Narcondam Hornbill is placed in the genus ''[[Rhyticeros]]'' which is found only in Asia. Molecular evidence suggests that hornbills originated in Africa.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal|last1=Gonzalez|first1=Juan-Carlos T.|last2=Sheldon|first2=Ben C.|last3=Collar|first3=Nigel J.|last4=Tobias|first4=Joseph A. |year=2013 |title=A comprehensive molecular phylogeny for the hornbills (Aves: Bucerotidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=468–483 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2013.02.012 |pmid=23438388|bibcode=2013MolPE..67..468G }}</ref> Closely related species include species like [[wreathed hornbill]] (''Rhyticeros undulatus'') and [[Blyth's hornbill]] (''Rhyticeros plicatus)''.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|url = http://www.ijcs.uaic.ro/public/IJCS-15-12_Kumar.pdf |title = Assessment of effectiveness of conservation action adopted for hornbill species in Arunachal Pradesh, India: The great indian hornbill (''Buceros bicornis'')|author = Kumar, A. | last2= Riba, B. |date = 2015|journal = International Journal of Conservation Science |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=125–134 }}</ref>

== Behavior ==
[[File:Narcondam hornbill.jpg|thumb|left|Narcondam hornbill photographed in 2010]]

=== Vocalizations ===
Adults have a ''ka- ka- ka'' call in flight and a ''ko ... kokoko..ko..kok.. kok..'' call at the nest. The young in the nest produce feeble ''chew'' calls.<ref name="Yahya and Zarri"/><ref name="sah" />

=== Diet and ecology ===
The hornbill is predominantly [[Frugivore|frugivorous]]. Based on seeds in the middens below nesting trees, the following food tree species were identified:<ref name="sah" /> ''[[Anamirta cocculus]], [https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/32077 Capparis sepiaria], C. tenera'' var. ''latifolia, [[Garuga pinnata]], [[Aphanamixis polystachya|Amoora rohituka]], [[Terminalia catappa]],'' and ''Ixora brunniscens''. Nine species of fruits were recorded in their diet in a later study:<ref name="Yahya and Zarri"/> ''[[Caryota mitis]], [[Myristica andamanica]], Artocarpus chaplasha, [[Dillenia indica]], Sideroxylon longipetiolatum, [[Syzygium cumini]], [[Ficus pumila|Ficus scandens]], [[Ficus racemosa|Ficus glomerata]],'' and ''Ficus sp.'' Like other hornbills, they also consume invertebrates and occasionally feed on small reptiles.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = Conservation of birds of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands|last = Vijayan|first = L|date = 2009|journal = Indian Birds |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=103–107 }}</ref> They sometimes mob [[white-bellied sea eagle]]s that fly too close.<ref name="Yahya and Zarri"/><ref name="sah" /> Being predominantly fruit eaters, they play an important role in the seed dispersal of [[Ficus|figs]] and other plant species.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Naniwadekar|first1=Rohit |last2=Mishra|first2=Charudutt |last3=Datta|first3=Aparajita |year=2015 |title=Fruit resource tracking by hornbill species at multiple scales in a tropical forest in India|journal=Journal of Tropical Ecology |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=477–490 |doi=10.1017/S0266467415000449|s2cid=83830161 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter = Ecology and conservation of the Narcondam hornbill, ''Aceros narcondami'', in Andaman and Nicobar Islands|last = Yahya |first = H.S.A. |date = 2012 |title = Ecology of Faunal Communities on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands |pages=263–272 |doi = 10.1007/978-3-642-28335-2_17 |publisher = Springer-Verlag|isbn = 978-3-642-28334-5 }}</ref> Figs are important in the ecology of many other insular hornbill species and are a major factor determining the distribution patterns of hornbills in forests.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sitompul|first1=Arnold F.|last2=Kinnaird|first2=Margaret F.|last3=O'Brien|first3=Timothy G. |year=2005 |title=Size matters: the effects of forest fragmentation and resource availability on the endemic Sumba Hornbill ''Aceros everetti'' |journal=Bird Conservation International |volume=14 |issue=S1 |pages=S23–S37 |doi=10.1017/S0959270905000201|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Reproduction ===
The breeding period spans at least from February until April. The species nests in holes on the trunk or broken branches of large trees. The female remains concealed in the nest-cavity for the duration of egg-laying and chick-rearing. At this time, the female sheds her flight feathers and hence cannot fly.<ref name=":1"/> The male provides food for the female and chicks.<ref name="mudappa"/> Generally two offspring are raised by a breeding pair. Breeding birds are over four years of age and make up 46-53% of the population.<ref name=":1"/>

Birds have been maintained in captivity but have not been bred successfully. In 1972, [[S. A. Hussain]] visited Narcondam Island and captured two adult hornbills and their chicks. The two chicks were taken to [[Bombay]] after the male died during the voyage and the female escaped in [[Madras]], never to be found again. The chicks grew and lived for about 6 years but with age, the female showed increasing aggression towards the male sibling, eventually injuring him so badly that he died.<ref name="sah" />

==Habitat and Distribution ==
[[File:Narcondam 1885.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Topography of Narcondam Island]]
The bird is a resident of fairly open mixed forest that stretches over most of the island from sea level to about 700m. However most Narcondam Hornbill nests are found below 200m. For nesting and roosting, the bird prefers mature undisturbed forest with large trees.<ref name=":1"/> The favored nesting trees are ''[[Sideroxylon]]'' and ''[[Sterculia]]'' species.<ref name="sah">{{cite journal|author=Hussain, SA |year=1984|title= Some aspects of the biology and ecology of Narcondam Hornbill (''Rhyticeros narcondami'')|journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=81|issue=1|pages=1–18|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48873960}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 3|url=https://archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin03oate#page/149/mode/1up/ |page=149|year=1896|author=Blanford, WT | publisher=Taylor and Francis, London}}</ref>

The entire population (estimate of about 200 birds in 1905<ref>{{cite journal|author=Osmaston, BB|author-link=Bertram Beresford Osmaston|year=1905|title=A visit to Narcondam|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=16|issue=4|pages=620–622|url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofbombayn16abomb#page/620/mode/1up/}}</ref> and 1984) is restricted to the single island of Narcondam in the Andaman Island chain. The island is clothed in forests and rises to a height of about 2300 feet above sea level. It is largely devoid of human presence.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofbombayn121900bomb#page/212/mode/1up/|author=St. John J H |year=1898|title=Some notes on the Narcondam hornbill, Etc. (''Rhytidoceros narcondami'') |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=12|pages=212–214}}</ref> The island is often hit by cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal. In 2000, an estimate of 434 birds was made for the population, with a density of 54<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/SACON2002/SACON2002-3#page/n15/mode/1up|author=SACON|chapter=Roosting ecology and diet of the Narcondam Hornbill ''Aceros narcondami'' at Narcondam Island Sanctuary, A & N Islands, India|title=Annual Report 2002-2003|publisher=Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History|pages=11–12}}</ref> to 72 birds per square kilometre on the island, which has an area of about 6.8 square kilometres.<ref name="Yahya and Zarri">{{cite journal|author1=Yahya, H. S. A. |author2=Zarri, A. A. |year=2002|title=Status, ecology and behaviour of Narcondam Hornbill (''Aceros narcondami'') in Narcondam Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=99|issue=3|pages=434–445|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48604342}}</ref> A nest site density of 2.8 pairs per square kilometer has been estimated.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Datta, A |author2=GS Rawat|year=2004| title=Nest-site selection and nesting success of three hornbill species in Arunachal Pradesh, north-east India: Great Hornbill ''Buceros bicornis'', Wreathed Hornbill ''Aceros undulatus'' and Oriental Pied Hornbill ''Anthracoceros albirostris''|journal= Bird Conservation International|volume=14| pages=S39–S52| doi=10.1017/S0959270905000213|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Conservation status ==
Some human presence on the island has been noted recently and since 2009 the Narcondam hornbill has had a [[Conservation status]] of [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hussain, SA |year=1991| title= Some urgent considerations for the conservation of Narcondam Island|journal=[[Newsletter for Birdwatchers]]|volume=31|issue=5&6|page=6| url=https://archive.org/stream/NLBW31_56#page/n6/mode/1up}}</ref>

The island of Narcondam has in the past been largely unpopulated. Goats were introduced several times on the island in the past, and a visit in 1991 revealed that feral goats had proliferated around an old police outpost. In 2011 there was a proposal by the Indian Coast Guard to erect a radar station and a diesel power generation station for it on the island. This was opposed due to the threats of increased human activity and disturbance and the threat to a number of endemic island species, including the hornbill. The plan was finally cancelled by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2012.<ref name="mudappa">{{cite journal|title=An expedition to Narcondam: observations of marine and terrestrial fauna including the island-endemic hornbill|last1=Raman|first1=T. R. Shankar |first2=Divya |last2=Mudappa|first3=Tasneem |last3=Khan| first4=Umeed |last4=Mistry| first5=Ajai |last5=Saxena|first6= Kalyan |last6=Varma| first7=Naveen |last7=Ekka|first8=Janaki |last8=Lenin|first9=Romulus | last9=Whitaker|journal=Current Science| volume=105| issue=3|year=2013|pages=346–350|url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/105/03/0346.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moef.nic.in/sites/default/files/wl-04092012_0.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Environment and Forests|title=Permission for installation of Coastal surveillance RADAR and power supply source at Narcondam Island Sanctuary, Reg.|date = 31 August 2012|access-date=7 April 2014}}</ref> However, in the wake of the Chinese monitoring activity in Myanmar's neighbouring Coco Island, the nod for the listening station was granted in June 2014.<ref name="indiatimes">{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/developmental-issues/green-nod-for-radar-station-at-narcondam-in-andamans/articleshow/36411949.cms|title=Green nod for radar station at Narcondam in Andamans - The Economic Times|newspaper=The Economic Times |publisher=economictimes.indiatimes.com|access-date=14 September 2015|last1=Mohan |first1=Vishwa }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Rhyticeros narcondami}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.conservationindia.org/campaigns/narcondam|title=Conservation India » Narcondam Campaign Update — Rare Hornbills in danger as Ministry Reopens Radar Project!|date=6 July 2012 |publisher=conservationindia.org|access-date=14 September 2015}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/moef-says-no-radar-installation-narcondam-hornbill-habitat|title=MoEF says no to radar installation in Narcondam hornbill habitat|publisher=downtoearth.org.in|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-date=2 July 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130702113636/http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/moef-says-no-radar-installation-narcondam-hornbill-habitat}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org/asia/news/saving-narcondam-hornbill-radar-indian-government|title=Saving Narcondam Hornbill is on radar of the Indian Government {{pipe}} BirdLife|publisher=birdlife.org|access-date=14 September 2015}}
*{{cite web|url=http://moef.nic.in/assets/mom-25th_NBWL.pdf|date=26 July 2012|title= Minutes of the 25th meeting of the Standing Committee of NBWL|author=Vivek Saxena|publisher=Government of India Ministry of Environments & Forests (Wildlife Division) |access-date=14 September 2015}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.blackbuck.org.in/Narcondam.php|title=Madras Naturalists' Society - Petition|publisher=blackbuck.org.in|access-date=14 September 2015}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140715204913/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140712-india-environment-science-narcondam-hornbill Could Rare Bird on Tiny Island Be India's Ecological Canary?]
*[http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/ministry-bats-for-endangered-island-bird/article3867864.ece Ministry bats for endangered Island Bird]
*[http://news.mongabay.com/2012/06/worlds-only-300-narcondam-hornbills-threatened-by-radar-facility-off-india/ Worlds only 300 Narcondam hornbills threatened by radar facility off India.]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q609129}}

[[Category:Rhyticeros|Narcondam hornbill]]
[[Category:Birds of the Andaman Islands]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1873|Narcondam hornbill]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Andaman Islands]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]
[[Category:Endemic birds of India]]

Narcondam hornbill - Revision history

Caliber: new new details