Avian video November 2019 - Rhinocerous Hornbill feeding

For two weekends I was there in BT the pair of majestic Rhinocerous Hornbill were there to feed on the tiniest of ficus. It uncanny nimble on the fruits with its tip of the large beak and then turn upwards to swallow them. I cannot imagine how much they will eat just to fill their gizzard. They were spotted in 2 sessions in the morning. I left the place after 12 noon.

Even the Siamang was there to feast on the fruits oblivious of the people below. This is good for tourism ; if not the place has nothing much to experience other than the Garden and cool weather.

Avian sighting - Black Hornbill

This pair of Black Hornbill were shot in full frame with minimal cropped at a close distance of 120 ft near a new resort hotel at Sepilok Sabah last year 2018. They stayed there at the locale for a good  hour or so eying me and Rosalyn.

The Black hornbill  is named after the female bird which  I wildly guessed because of its entire black casqued bill and body  I always thought it was the male. If you see the male from its back you may wrongly id it as the Pied Hornbill The latter is  white bellied whilst the Black Hornbill is entirely Black. The couple looks so contrasting.

Looking at each other The Male is a much larger bird and looks protective of its mate It will follow the female where ever it go 

HORNBILL 10/10 - Plain pouched Hornbill

Plain pouched hornbill is almost similar in features as its cousin the Wreathed Hornbill except its jugular pouch is plain lacking the black streak as the latter. The casque is also has no corrugation as the Wreath.  It is supposedly smaller that the wreathed. The female has a blue pouch whilst its male has a yellowish jugular pouch.

HORNBILL 7/9 - Greater Hornbill

 

Greater Hornbill

There were a threesome family which flew pass me on the way to Bkt Tinggi at 7.30 am Luckily they perch at a forest tree curious seeing my red car. Only managed a few shots before they again flew off to their next destination. The blue hue of the sky make my shots a bit over expose.....but heh it a lifer for Merdeka day 2008


ID its wings features against Craigs fieldbook. When the flap their wings their is resonant sound "kwehkwekwekweh....."

HORNBILL 6/9 - Helmeted Hornbill

  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.

HORNBILL 5/9 - Oriental Pied Hornbill

 

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Small (75 cm), black and white hornbill with a large yellow-white casque. Plumage black except for a white patch under the eye, white lower belly, thighs, and undertail coverts, white tips to flight feathers and white outer tail feathers.
Iris-dark brown; naked skin around eye and gular skin-white; bill and casque yellow-white with black spots on base of lower mandible and front of casque; feet-black.

A conspicuous bird of lowland primary and secondary forests. It prefer more open habitat such as coastal and forest edge, clearings and secondary forest than other hornbills. Found in pairs or noisy parties, flapping or gliding from tree to tree.is omnivorous, taking fruit, fish and small mammals. Figs form an important part of their diet and contribute to 60% of their diet from May to February, the non-breeding season and during breeding (March to April) up to 75% of the fruits delivered at the nest were figs. I have sighting in Kuantan Cherating beach, Bkt Rengit,Bidor and very common in Pulau Pangkor.

HORNBILL 4/9 - Black Hornbill

 Black hornbill

Looks like the Oriental Pied which are commonly found in Perak state. The distinguish mark is the Horn which entirely white whereelse the later horn/casque have a black marking

HORNBILL 9/10 - White-crowned Hornbill

White-Crowned Hornbill

Got to shoot my last hornbill subspecies at Tiger Temple in  Bangkok Thailand. It was place in a  large aviary amongst several other hornbill and ground birds. 

WCH looks  monotonous unlike the other brightly coloured hornbills. It is the rarer bird to see amongst 9 species of hornbills of Malaysia. This species is found in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. This bird inhabits rainforests of low and medium altitudes, usually at an elevation below 900 meters. It may also be found into fruit, oil-palm and rubber plantations when food is scarce.

It  is a large hornbill, reaching a length of 83–102 centimetres (33–40 in). Females are smaller than males. The plumage is black and white. The head, neck, breast and tail are white, while the rest of the feathers is black. It has a white crown feathers erected in a crest (hence the common name). Between the eye and the bill and on the throat there is bare dark blue skin. The bill is mainly black, with a yellowish base. Similarly to most of hornbills it has a kind of blackish casque on the top if its bill. Female have black neck and underparts. These birds are territorial and feed on various fruits, lizard, antropods and larvae.

^{Photos shot from Fuji X-2}


New sighting at Nuang Perdik in November 2016. A pair was sighted for a duration of 2-4 weeks here.  This shots taken with Fuji XT-2 This is the first time I sighted them in the wild. 

HORNBILL 8/9 - Bushy-crested Hornbill

Bushy-crested Hornbill

HORNBILL 3/9 - Wreath Hornbill

Wreath Hornbill

These are huge birds about 3 feet in length. The female have bluish pouch whilst the male slightly larger got a orangy or yellow gular pouch. Notice the black streak below its pouch. Threesome family at Awana .Flew across the path and perch at about 80 ft high. Very lucky to see them as Jason and Gilbert stayed at the end gate.

Give out very loud "Kuk Kwehk" territorial call

HORNBILL 2/9 - Wrinkled Hornbill

Wrinkled hornbill are one of the intermediate size hornbill found in Malaysia about 80 cm in height. They have black plumage and a white or yellow stained tail with a black base. Their wings have ten rounded primaries that allow air to go through creating a loud whooshing sound. Males have yellow feathering on their inflatable throats, chests, and face. Blue skin covers the eye area. Females do not have yellow coloring on their chest or face, but they have blue skin that covers the face and throat area. Their bills are very large and yellow with a casque that looks like an extra beak. The casque is curved with ridges and sits on top the bill. A males casque is usually red or orange in color and females have a slightly smaller, yellow casque. Hornbills get their name from this unique bill. The bill is used to grasp and toss insects and fruits in the air to eat. Other uses for the bill include helping to build and maintain the nest, aiding in defense against poisonous snakes and other predators, sound reception, and it can be used to determine their age. The bill is very powerful because it is fused to the cranium, which in turn articulates with the fused upper vertebrae. This creates a pickax-like beak that is very useful for the young to peck out of the nest.

The monogamous Wrinkled Hornbills are usually found in pairs or in small groups. They are not aggressive and are sometimes clumsy in flight. They have deep echoing calls that sound like harsh kak-kak or deep rowwow or wakowwakowkow and calls can be heard from miles away. They have a life long relationship like married couples and usually breed during rainy seasons when moist soil is available to build nest walls. They do not have the typical bird nesting behavior. Instead of building nests out of twigs, they find a tree hole. The hole is constructed by a woodpecker pecking a hole in the tree. Eventually fungus will grow and enlarge the hole. Bees are attracted to the hole and use the hole to make honey. The honey attract a bear that uses his claws to dig out the honey, further enlarging the hole, making it a perfect nesting site for the wrinkled hornbill. After finding a good nest hole, the female will do most of the nest building by blocking the entry of a tree cavity with a plaster made with mud, droppings, and regurgitated food. The male will bring all the materials needed and finish the outer wall where the female can no longer reach. The main purpose of this wall is to protect the eggs from predators such as monkeys, and snakes. A small hole is left so the male can feed his family, and the female stays locked in the nest with the eggs during incubation period. The incubation period is usually 28-30 days. After a few months the female will break out of the nest, and the chicks will rebuild the wall and continue to be fed by the male until they are ready to leave the nest.

Breeding is usually during the rainy season of December and January. Nest holes are usually located 40-50 meters above ground. After a pre-laying period of 4-6 days, the female will lay an average of two eggs. She can lay extra eggs if the eggs are lost. After a month of incubation, the chicks will hatch. They have pink skin that will turn purple in about 10 days. This is when the female breaks out of the nest, and the male continues to feed the chicks. The chicks will mature and leave the nest after another 65-73 days. The whole nesting cycle takes about four months.

Hornbills eat mostly fruits with numerous small fine seeds such as figs, and small animals such as frogs, lizards, snails, arthropods and young birds. During the nesting period, the male will regurgitate up to 150 figs to feed to his family. These birds do not rely on drinking water because they get water from their food. If the male brings the same food, the female will throw the food back suggesting that he find something else. If the male were never to return, his mate and chicks would starve to death.

HORNBILL 1/9 - Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rhino Hornbill is a very large (110 cm), black and white hornbill with yellow and red bill and casque, and diagnostic white tail with a broad black band. Head, back, wings, and breast black; belly and thighs white. Iris-white to blue in females, red in males; skin around eyes-dark grey; bill yellow with red base and surmounted by upturned spiralling casque; feet-greenish grey.

Pairs inhabit the crowns of the tallest trees. A regular visitor to fruiting giant strangling figs. Gives a dramatic whooshing sound of wing-beats in flight.

The courtship and bonding of these birds are critical, as the female must trust the male to provide her with everything when she is incubating and raising chicks. These Hornbills lay their eggs inside tree trunks, the females stay inside with the eggs, while the male will bring her and the young food. After the eggs are laid the male collects mud, and the male and female pack that mud, food, and feces to 'mud-up' the tree cavity entrance. This creates a very small hole, only large enough for the male to feed the female (and later chicks) and for the female to defecate out the hole. Once the babies are old enough (fully feathered)to leave the nest the female and male chip away the dry mud so the babies can get out.

I have yet to see it in its natural habitat................