The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills.
It has a 23 cm (9.1 in) tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill.
Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen.
They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck.
They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on the outer branches of large fruiting trees.
They have brown-grey wings, a white carpal patch and black primary flight feathers tipped with white.
The Indian grey hornbill, which is found mainly on the adjoining plains, is easily told apart by its prominent casque, and in flight by the white trailing edge of the entire wing.
The Malabar grey hornbill has a grey back and a cinnamon vent.
The long tail is blackish with a white tip, and the underparts are grey with white streaks.
The long curved bill has no casque.
Immature birds have browner upperparts and a yellow bill.
Young birds have a dull white or yellow iris.

Their loud calls are distinctive and include "hysterical cackling", "laughing" and "screeching" calls.
The Malabar grey hornbill is a large bird, but at 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length it is still the smallest of the Asian hornbills. It has a 23 cm (9.1 in) tail and pale or yellowish to orange bill. Males have a reddish bill with a yellow tip, while the females have a plain yellow bill with black at the base of the lower mandible and a black stripe along the culmen. They show a broad whitish superciliary band above the eye, running down to the neck. They fly with a strong flap and glide flight and hop around heavily on the outer branches of large fruiting trees. They have brown-grey wings, a white carpal patch and black primary flight feathers tipped with white. The Indian grey hornbill, which is found mainly on the adjoining plains, is easily told apart by its prominent casque, and in flight by the white trailing edge of the entire wing. The Malabar grey hornbill has a grey back and a cinnamon vent. The long tail is blackish with a white tip, and the underparts are grey with white streaks. The long curved bill has no casque. Immature birds have browner upperparts and a yellow bill. Young birds have a dull white or yellow iris.
Their loud calls are distinctive and include "hysterical cackling", "laughing" and "screeching" calls.
Malabar grey hornbill