Great Hornbill - Nepal 1977 (special post)

Country: Nepal
Date of Issue: 07/12/1977
Series Name: Nepal 1977 Bird Series
Bird:
Great Hornbill - Buceros bicornis


Collectors Corner: This stamp belongs to set of 4 bird stamps. Stamp has a face value of 50 paise. Currency of Nepal is pegged with Indian Currency. Also the stamps were printed at Indian Security Press were the Indian stamps are also printed. Infact this looks like a simple cover but cancelled at a Special P.O - Hotel Shankar. The Shankar Hotel is a heritage hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. This was formerly a neo-classical Rana palace made by Agni Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, the then prime minister of Nepal. The hotel was opened in 1964. My sincere thanks to Santhosh kumar, Chennai for providing this special cancellation cover.

Great Hornbill - Buceros bicornis
(Great Indian Hornbill, Great Pied Hornbill)

Status: Near Threatened
Habitat: Brunei Darussalam, Burma, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.(lowland ever green forest)
Threats: Hunting, deforestation & logging.
Diet: Fruits, figs, small mammals, birds, small reptiles and insects.
Features: The Great Hornbill is a large bird, 95-120 cm (38-47 in) long, with a 152 cm (60 in) wingspan and a weight of 2.15–4 kg (4.7-8.8 lbs). It is the heaviest, but not the longest, Asian hornbill. The most prominent feature of the hornbill is the bright yellow and black casque on top of its massive bill. The casque appears U-shaped when viewed from the front and the top is concave with two ridges along the sides that form points in the front, a reference to which is made in the Latin species epithet bicornis. The casque is hollow and serves no known purpose although they are believed to be the result of sexual selection. Male hornbills have been known to indulge in aerial casque butting, with birds striking each other in flight.
Breeding: Groups
Facts:
The Great Hornbill is the State bird of Chin state in Myanmar, and Kerala and Arunachal in India.
The beaks and head are used in charms and the flesh is believed to be medicinal. The squabs are considered a delicacy. Tribesmen in parts of northeastern India and Borneo use their feathers for head-dresses, and their skulls are often worn as decorations.
The hornbills is called "homrai" in Nepal and "banrao" both meaning "King of the forest".