Template:POTD/2024-08-05

Picture of the day

The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) is a bird in the hornbill family of tropical near-passerines. It is a common resident breeder in India and Sri Lanka, where its habitat is evergreen and moist deciduous forests, often near human settlements. It is an omnivorous species, consuming fruits, small mammals, birds, small reptiles and insects. It eats by killing its prey and swallowing it whole. Figs are an important food, contributing at least 60% of the bird's diet throughout the year. It breeds in March and April, during which time figs form up to 75% of the fruits delivered at the nest. This Malabar pied hornbill was photographed in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp