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Indian grey hornbill
धनेश (dhanesh)
A grey, long-tailed hornbill with a down-curved bill and a small ridge running along the top of it. It lives in the big old trees of towns and groves.
👀 How to recognise it
The flight gives it away — a few flaps, then a long glide on closed wings, with a heavy head in front and a very long tail behind. The call is a loud squealing cackle from inside the canopy.
Where to see it
Delhi
One of the few large birds that has kept a foothold inside central Delhi, because the old tomb gardens still hold hollow trees for it to nest in.
Lodhi Garden (often) · Sanjay Van (often) · Sunder Nursery (often)
Govardhan
The female walls herself into a tree hollow with mud, leaving a slit through which the male feeds her and the chick for weeks. A pair therefore depends on the old trees along the circuit and around the tanks, the same trees that give pilgrims their shade.
Govardhan Hill & Parikrama Marg (often) · Mansi Ganga (often)
Vrindavan
The female shuts herself into a tree hollow, sealing the entrance with mud until only a narrow slit is left, and the male feeds her and the chick through it for weeks. A pair therefore needs a big hollow tree, which is why hornbills vanish from a town as soon as its old trees do. The hornbill is one of the few large birds that stays inside the built-up parts of Vrindavan.
Gahvar Van (often) · Bhandirvan (Bhandir Vat) (often) · Vrindavan Parikrama Marg (often)
Chandigarh
The state bird of Chandigarh, adopted with the city's other three symbols in 2010. It needs old trees with natural hollows to nest in, which the city's mature avenue planting now provides.
Leisure Valley (often) · Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary (often) · Pinjore Gardens (often)
Pune
The female seals herself into a tree hole with mud while nesting and is fed by the male through a slit, which makes old hollow trees non-negotiable for the species.
Empress Botanical Garden (often) · Vetal Tekdi (often) · P.L. Deshpande Garden (Okayama Friendship Garden) (in season)