Skip to main content

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Buceros rhinoceros
The Rhinoceros Hornbill can be found in several countries through Southeast Asia, and are the state birds of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. They live in rainforests at altitudes below 1,400m, and you'll probably hear them before you see them. Their large, rounded wings make flying very noisy and difficult, and they are able to blast out very loud calls to one another thanks to their sound-resonating headgear.

One of the largest Hornbill species, these birds can grow nearly 4ft in length. They are predominantly black with white feathers, and both males and females have those distinctive yellowish-orange casques on their heads. One easy way to tell the difference between sexes is by looking at their eyes-- males have red irises, while females have white.

Rhinoceros Hornbills form very strong pair bonds, and may keep those bonds for many years (in captivity they can live 30 years or more) The female needs to have exceptional trust in her partner, because she literally seals herself into a tree hole while incubating their eggs. She'll lay up to three at once, inside of a cavity, and then a wall of mud, plants, and feces is built, locking her inside with only a small hole to receive food through. She will rely completely on her partner to feed her during that time, which can last as long as 100 days!
IUCN Status : Near Threatened
Location : Southeast Asia
Size : Length up to 4ft (1.2m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Coraciiformes
Family : Bucerotidae -- Genus : Buceros -- Species : B. rhinoceros
Image :  Jim Bowen
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more