Helmeted Hornbill
Heard its gibbon-like call (comprising of
hoots followed by its unique laughter ) umpteen times but the montane forest of
Genting is so vast. This time took my chance to wait for it at an opening under
the cable car line and kept my fingers crossed. With a slight movement at the
far side about 1.5 km away my bird luck came but I only manage a few flying
shot. I believe there is a pair of residents here in Awana most probably a
breeding parent as recorded by Mike Chong.
The Helmeted Hornbill is a large bird in the hornbill family. It is found in lowland forests, up to 1500 m of peninsula Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It lives in a pair in upper canopy of tall trees, mixing with other hornbills, pigeons, and primates in major fruiting tree. Voice is a series of identical, loud, hollow took notes, gaining in speed before drawing to an amazing climax of maniacal laughter, tee poop notes.
It has mostly blackish plumage except that the belly and legs are white and the tail is white with each feather having a black band near the tip. The tail is long and the two central tail feathers are much longer than the others, up to 1 m, giving the bird a length up to 160 cm, the longest among hornbills. The body length is 95–120 cm (38–47 in). Males weigh 3.1 kg (6.8 lbs) and females weigh about 2.7 kg (5.9 lbs).
This species has a bare, wrinkled throat patch, blue in females and red in males. The casque goes from the base of the bill halfway to the tip, where it ends abruptly. It and the bill are yellow; the red secretion of the preen gland covers the sides and top of the casque and the base of the bill, but often leaves the front end of the casque and the distal half of the bill yellow. Unlike other hornbills, the Helmeted Hornbill's casque is solid, and the skull including the casque and bill may constitute 10 percent of the bird's weight.
This bird eats mostly fruit, especially figs like this ones. It may also use the casque as a weighted tool to dig into rotten wood and loose bark in search of insects and similar prey. Unlike many fruit-eating hornbills, it is sedentary and pairs maintain a territory. Males fight over territory on the wing, ramming each other with their casques.
The Helmeted Hornbill is a large bird in the hornbill family. It is found in lowland forests, up to 1500 m of peninsula Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It lives in a pair in upper canopy of tall trees, mixing with other hornbills, pigeons, and primates in major fruiting tree. Voice is a series of identical, loud, hollow took notes, gaining in speed before drawing to an amazing climax of maniacal laughter, tee poop notes.
It has mostly blackish plumage except that the belly and legs are white and the tail is white with each feather having a black band near the tip. The tail is long and the two central tail feathers are much longer than the others, up to 1 m, giving the bird a length up to 160 cm, the longest among hornbills. The body length is 95–120 cm (38–47 in). Males weigh 3.1 kg (6.8 lbs) and females weigh about 2.7 kg (5.9 lbs).
This species has a bare, wrinkled throat patch, blue in females and red in males. The casque goes from the base of the bill halfway to the tip, where it ends abruptly. It and the bill are yellow; the red secretion of the preen gland covers the sides and top of the casque and the base of the bill, but often leaves the front end of the casque and the distal half of the bill yellow. Unlike other hornbills, the Helmeted Hornbill's casque is solid, and the skull including the casque and bill may constitute 10 percent of the bird's weight.
This bird eats mostly fruit, especially figs like this ones. It may also use the casque as a weighted tool to dig into rotten wood and loose bark in search of insects and similar prey. Unlike many fruit-eating hornbills, it is sedentary and pairs maintain a territory. Males fight over territory on the wing, ramming each other with their casques.
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