MALAYSIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

Background There are approximately 62 recognized species of hornbills in the world, divided between Asia (32 species) and Africa (30 species. These birds belong to the families Bucerotidae (60 species) and Bucorvidae (2 species) with 26 species listed as threatened or near-threatened with extinction. While the ‘sealed cavity’ nesting method is a signature trait of most hornbill species, it is not universal across the entire family. African ground hornbills (shown below) do not seal their nests. Nesting requirements I have been fascinated by the breeding protocol of hornbills where the female is ‘imprisoned’ for 3 months with the sole purpose of raising offspring. I live on Penang island where there are currently no endemic hornbills. Langkawi Island which is in a similar longitude only 60-70 nautical miles north has multiple species of hornbills some of which have impressive numbers. The common belief is that the reason for the lack of hornbills on Penang island is; 1. Habit...

What is delivered to the nest? It was interesting to see what was delivered to the nest occupants. Fruit dominated (as this species are mostly frugivores), insects both large and small), snails (in the shell, lizards (also both large and small) and other bird species, and even soil (this is not totally unusual as soil is ingested for various minerals and to sooth upset stomachs). The fruit included peeled rambutans which begged the question as to whether the male was peeling the fruit or local folk was leaving prepared fruit for them. What are the feeding numbers? My observations and stats from scientific data show that the male hornbill will visit the nest 30 to 50 times per day. If this is multiplied by the number of days the female and chicks are sealed in the nest cavity it works out to an impressive 2700 to 4500 visits to the nest in the breeding cycle. Liberation day There is a certain amount of luck or serendipity in being able to record the end of the nesting cyc...