Ocyceros
Head of Indian grey hornbill, woodcut from The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Bucerotidae
Genus: Ocyceros
Hume, 1873
Type species
Buceros birostris[1]
Scopoli, 1786
Species
  • O. birostris
  • O. gingalensis
  • O. griseus

Ocyceros is a genus of birds in the family Bucerotidae. Established by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873, it contains several species that are limited to the Indian subcontinent.[2][3]

Description

Hornbills in the genus Ocyceros are small Asian birds with curved triangular bills and grey plumage. As such, they are often called "grey hornbills". They have black and grey eye rings and their eyes are usually dark with black irises. All of the species have different coloured bills: the Indian grey hornbill has a dark greyish bill, the Sri Lanka grey hornbill has a pale yellowish bill, and the Malabar grey hornbill has a more yellowish orange bill.

Species

The genus contains three species:[4]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Ocyceros griseus Malabar grey hornbill Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India
Ocyceros gingalensis Sri Lanka grey hornbill Sri Lanka
Ocyceros birostris Indian grey hornbill India

References

  1. ^ "Bucerotidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ a b "ITIS Report: Ocyceros". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b Kinnaird, Margaret F.; O'Brien, Timothy G. (2007). The Ecology and Conservation of Asian Hornbills: Farmers of the Forest. Chicago, IL, US: University of Chicago Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-226-43712-5.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Mousebirds, Cuckoo Roller, trogons, hoopoes, hornbills". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
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