Mindoro Hornbill

Penelopides mindorensis

Red List Status: EN – Endangered, criteria C2a(i) (IUCN 2020)

Distribution: Endemic to the Philippines; occurs only on the island of Mindoro. 

Description: 45 cm. Small-sized hornbill; appears like Visayan Tarictic Hornbill; male has pink (not blue) facial skin and lacks black base on bill. Females like male except smaller with blue facial skin; this is the only species in the genus where the female resembles the male and is not almost entirely black. Juvenile resembles adult of same sex except for smaller stripeless bill. 

Voice: The voice has been described as much deeper and less trumpet-like than Visayan Tarictic Hornbill; a weak note or a series of tar-ic-tic

Audio from xeno-canto

Habits: Found in primary rainforest, as well as secondary forest, forest edge and agro-forests, mainly in the lowlands that retain Ficus, Artocarpus (Moraceae), Canarium (Burseraceae), Syzygium (Myrtaceae) and Dysoxylum (Meliaceae) fruiting trees, but recorded up to 1,000 m elevation. Resilient to typhoon damage to its habitat, it visits tiny forest patches and even isolated fruiting trees for feeding, but is probably reliant on larger tracts of closed canopy forest nearby for breeding sites. Feeds on fruits, mainly figs; possibly also some insects. It appears to be sedentary and territorial; it is usually seen in pairs or in small flocks of up to 20 individuals.