Malabar Gray Toko
| Malabar Gray Toko | ||||||||||
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Female of the Malabar Gray Goose, Kerala, India |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Ocyceros griseus | ||||||||||
| ( Latham , 1790) |
The Malabar gray toko ( Ocyceros griseus ) is a monotypical species of bird from the hornbill family that is common in South Asia. It is one of the smaller hornbill species with slate-gray plumage without a noticeable beak attachment.
Like all hornbills, the Malabar gray toko is a cave breeder. The female spends the breeding season in a tree hollow that is walled up except for a narrow crack. During the breeding season, they and later the young birds are provided with food by the male. He belongs to the Asian Tokos , a sister species occurring in Africa and the Middle East Tokos . All species that belong to the Asian Tokos are characterized by a lack of territorial defensive behavior and the males bring the food in the throat and not in the beak to the brood cavity.
The stock situation of the Malabar gray coconut is classified as harmless ( least concern ).
Appearance
Malabar gray cocos reach a body length of 45 centimeters and are thus one of the smaller hornbill species. The male's beak is between 9.7 and 11 centimeters long. In females, this is a little smaller and reaches a length between 7.2 and 8.7 centimeters. Both sexes form a beak ridge, that of the female remains significantly smaller.
The weight of this hornbill species is between 238 and 340 grams. The sexual dimorphism is weak. The distinguishing feature is on the one hand the size of the birds and the size of the ridge of the beak.
Appearance of the males
The head, neck and top of the body are dark gray. A blue-gray to white stripe above the eye runs above the eye. The spring shafts on the neck and head are also white. The underside of the body is light gray, the belly is white and the under tail-coverts are reddish-brown. The arm wings and the hand wings are black-gray, the arm wings also have white tips and a white base. The tail is blackish gray. Except for the middle pair, all tail feathers have a white tip. The beak is yellow, in the male, unlike in the female, the base of the beak is orange. The featherless skin around the eye and the bare throat patch are black. The eyes are red-brown, the legs and feet are dark gray.
Appearance of females and fledglings
The female resembles the male in body plumage. In the female, the pale yellow bill has blackish spots on the ridge and on the sides of the lower bill.
The beak of the young birds is initially like that of the adult female, but it has a less extensive black area on the beak. Overall, the plumage is a little paler, which is particularly noticeable on the underside of the tail. The feathers of the wing covers are lined with reddish brown and the wings have white borders. The eyes are first. They become yellowish in slightly older birds and then brown later. The feet and legs are greenish gray. The wings and control feathers are also slightly more pointed than in the adult birds.
Possible confusion
The wedge-tailed toko, which belongs to the same genus, also occurs in the distribution area of the Malabar gray toko . The Malabar gray toko differs from this species in that it has a more yellow beak and a significantly shorter tail. The wedge-tailed toko is also slightly more brownish in feathering than the Malabar gray toko.
voice
The Malabar gray toko's calls are loud and cawing and cackling. Sometimes they are reminiscent of a mocking laugh, the squeaking of pigs or the cackling of domestic chickens.
Distribution area
The distribution area of the Malabar gray coconut is India. They occur in the Western Ghats . The Western Ghats are a mountain range in western India that runs along the edge of the Deccan Plateau and separates it from the narrow strip of the coastal plain and the Arabian Sea . The mountain range starts south of the Tapti River on the border of the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and runs for a length of about 1600 km through the states of Maharashtra, Goa , Karnataka , Kerala and Tamil Nadu almost to the tip of the Indian subcontinent.
In this distribution area, the Malabar gray toko inhabits evergreen rainforests and hardwood forests from the lowlands up to altitudes of 1,600 meters. It occurs most frequently above an altitude of 600 meters, where numerous wild fig trees grow. Starting from these forest areas, it is also occasionally to be found in gardens, on tea plantations and the tree plantations that were planted to provide shade for cultivated areas of green cardamom . Historically, it was presumably common in coastal forests, in forests in valleys and along rivers.
Way of life and food
Malabar gray cocos live in groups of 5 to 20 individuals that roam an area. In abundant fruit-bearing trees they are also associated with other fruit-eating bird species. The members of a squad keep in contact with each other by shouting.
Like all hornbill species, the Malabar gray toko is omnivorous. However, it covers most of its nutritional needs with fruits. Various wild figs play a major role. It also eats animal protein in the form of insects and small lizards.
Reproduction
Malabar gray tokos are monogamous and apparently raise their offspring without the support of helpers. The Malabar gray goat's courtship behavior includes spreading the control springs so that the white tips of the outer control springs become visible. The clutch consists of two to four eggs.
The reproductive biology of the Malabar gray coconut has not yet been conclusively investigated. But like all hornbill species it is a cave breeder. He uses natural tree hollows. The female walled up the entrance to the breeding cave except for a narrow gap. Through this it receives the food that the male carries in his throat.
literature
- Mark Cocker, David Tipling: Birds and People . Jonathan Cape, London 2013, ISBN 978-0-224-08174-0 .
- W. Grummt , H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds. Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 .
- Alan Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19-857729-X .
- Theo Pagel , Bernd Marcordes: Exotic soft-eaters . Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-8001-5192-9 .
Web links
- Ocyceros griseus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.1. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
- The Malabar gray coconut calls to Xeno-Canto