The male has a rufous head and neck, black body and upper parts glossed with green.

The iris of the male is orange red while the female has an olive brown with a pale yellow ring.

latifolia, Garuga pinnata, Amoora rohituka, Terminalia catappa, and Ixora brunniscens.

[8][9] Being predominantly fruit eaters, they play an important role in the seed dispersal of figs and other plant species.

In 1972, S. A. Hussain visited Narcondam Island and captured two adult hornbills and their chicks.

The two chicks were taken to Bombay after the male died during the voyage and the female escaped in Madras, never to be found again.

The chicks grew and lived for about 6 years but with age, the female showed increasing aggression towards the male sibling, eventually injuring him so badly that he died.

[9] The bird is a resident of fairly open mixed forest that stretches over most of the island from sea level to about 700m.

For nesting and roosting, the bird prefers mature undisturbed forest with large trees.

[19] Some human presence on the island has been noted recently and since 2009 the Narcondam hornbill has had a Conservation status of Vulnerable.

[14][21] However, in the wake of the Chinese monitoring activity in Myanmar's neighbouring Coco Island, the nod for the listening station was granted in June 2014.