Rufous-necked Hornbill

Adult Male

West Bengal

Lima Rosalind

2019

We were travelling from Rishop, Lava to Latpanchar, before we entered the village. We saw an adult male Rufous Necked Hornbill feeding on the fruits of the Horsfieldia kingii - Ramtamul. It fed for the fir the whole time , skipping from one branch to another. Out of the 10 fruits it plucked it could manage to put 7 in its mouth, the rest slipped below from a height of 20 ft. A little later into the evening, it began preening its front feathers and then its back and neck and its legs...in that order. Well into the evening as the night progressed, the RNH kept sitting on this tree adjoining the road, oblivious of the traffic or people. The locals too watched us watching this bird and were thrilled and most vehicles did not honk, which was heartwarming.