Helmeted Hornbill
Encyclopedia
The Helmeted Hornbill is a very large bird
in the hornbill
family. It is found in the Malay peninsula
, Sumatra
and Borneo
.
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 feather
s 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.
The call is described as hoots followed by maniacal laughter.
This bird eats mostly fruit, especially fig
s. 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 casque is the source of a valuable carving material, hornbill ivory
. Indigenous peoples also use the central tail feathers to decorate dancing cloaks and head-dresses.
The Punan
people believe that a large Helmeted Hornbill guards the river between life and death.http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/paganborneo/chapter15.html
As it is hunted in some areas and losing habitat, the Helmeted Hornbill is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the hornbill
Hornbill
Hornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...
family. It is found in the Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
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 feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s 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
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
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
Hornbill ivory
Hornbill ivory is a precious ornamental material derived from the Helmeted Hornbill , a large bird of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo....
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.
The call is described as hoots followed by maniacal laughter.
This bird eats mostly fruit, especially fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s. 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 casque is the source of a valuable carving material, hornbill ivory
Hornbill ivory
Hornbill ivory is a precious ornamental material derived from the Helmeted Hornbill , a large bird of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo....
. Indigenous peoples also use the central tail feathers to decorate dancing cloaks and head-dresses.
The Punan
Punan
Punan Bah or Punan is an ethnic group found in Sarawak, Malaysia. They are distinct, unrelated to the Penan and also the other so called Punan found in Kalimantan the Indonesian part of Borneo. Their name stems from two rivers along the banks of which they have been living time immemorial. They do...
people believe that a large Helmeted Hornbill guards the river between life and death.http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/paganborneo/chapter15.html
As it is hunted in some areas and losing habitat, the Helmeted Hornbill is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.