Wreathed hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus
A colourful sight high among the rainforest trees.
Discover the striking features and unusual behaviour of the wreathed hornbill.
The wreathed hornbill in a nutshell
- eats
- fruit and insects
- inhabits
- Southeast Asia
- excels at
- masonry
One of the features of this hornbill is its remarkably colourful characteristics. The male has an eye-catching yellow throat pouch, while the female’s throat pouch is blue. Young hornbills all look like males in their first year of life, regardless of their sex. The bird also has a distinctive horn on top of its large bill.
Walled up
The wreathed hornbill has a most unusual habit when it comes to nesting. The pair chooses a hollow in a tree, and then seals the female into it almost completely except for a narrow slit. The male then feeds her through this slit while she is incubating their eggs. The female sometimes leaves the nest prematurely so that she can join the male in seeking food for their young, but mother and young usually break out of the nest after three months.
Reliable
The female of this bird species is extremely choosy; she has to be, since she will be totally dependent on the male for her food once she is walled into the nest! It is therefore important for her to choose a reliable male, and she tests this by first returning the food the male brings her during their courtship. She only judges him to be a reliable and diligent mate if he, in turn, gives her the food back again. Once she chooses a mate, they remain together for the rest of their lives.
For a long time, people thought that these hornbills grew a new ridge in their beak each year, and that you could find out how old they were by counting the ridges. However, this has since been disproved.
Threats
Wreathed hornbills, like other hornbills, tends to avoid cities and cleared forests. This tendency makes them vulnerable, as rainforests in Southeast Asia continue to shrink and habitat area is lost. Hornbills are also hunted for their beaks, which local people use as decorations for their traditional headgear.
