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Reintroduced Indian Grey Hornbills Bred in Gir for a Fourth Consecutive Year

Indian grey hornbill perched in Chandigarh, India
Conservation · Reintroductions & translocations

Indian grey hornbills (Ocyceros birostris) reintroduced to the Gir landscape in western India have now bred there for a fourth consecutive year, according to a Gujarat government update reported on 14 July 2026. The species had disappeared from Gir more than six decades ago, after its presence declined during the middle of the twentieth century.

The recovery programme moved 40 hornbills from established populations in Gujarat’s Aravalli forests to Gir. Twenty-eight birds were released in 2021–2022 and another 12 in 2023. Eleven males carried satellite transmitters, while the released birds were also marked so that their movements, habitat use and breeding could be followed after release.

The peer-reviewed study underlying the programme’s earlier results, published in 2025, documented rapid changes after release. The hornbills initially explored large areas, with mean home ranges of about 60.9 km², before settling into mean ranges of about 5.7 km². One pair bred successfully during the first breeding season, followed by three additional nesting pairs during the second.

The July 2026 government update extends that record: Gujarat officials reported that the reintroduced birds had established territories and continued producing offspring, marking four consecutive years of successful breeding in Gir. This four-year statement comes from the 2026 official update, whereas the peer-reviewed 2025 paper documents the earlier phases of the programme. The birds have mainly used dry mixed deciduous and teak forest, while nesting has been associated with large, mature trees that provide suitable cavities.

Indian grey hornbills are important seed dispersers. Restoring a breeding population to Gir therefore returns not only a locally lost bird but also a species that transports seeds of fruiting trees across the landscape.

Sources and image credit

  1. Gir’s lost Hornbill takes flight again: Gujarat’s reintroduction project records 4 years of successful breedingDD India. (2026, July 14). Gir’s lost Hornbill takes flight again: Gujarat’s reintroduction project records 4 years of successful breeding. Reports the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office update that reintroduced Indian grey hornbills had established territories and produced offspring, marking four years of successful breeding.
  2. Reintroduction of Indian Grey Hornbills in Gir, India: Insights into Ranging, Habitat Use, Nesting and Behavioural PatternsRam, M., Gadhavi, D., Sahu, A., Srivastava, N., Rather, T. A., Dagur, T., Modi, V., Jhala, L., Zala, Y., & Jhala, D. (2025). Reintroduction of Indian Grey Hornbills in Gir, India: Insights into ranging, habitat use, nesting and behavioural patterns. Birds, 6(4), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040058. Primary study used only for background on releases, satellite tracking, habitat use and the first two breeding seasons; it was published in 2025, not treated as a 2026 study.
  3. Reintroduction and Satellite Telemetry Monitoring of Indian Grey Hornbill in Gir, GujaratGujarat Forest Department. (2022). Reintroduction and Satellite Telemetry Monitoring of Indian Grey Hornbill in Gir, Gujarat. First-hand project background on the reintroduction initiative.

Image: Indian grey hornbill perched in Chandigarh, India. Photo: Amanrajput72 / Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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