Papuan hornbill

The Papuan hornbill is also known as Blyth’s hornbill. It is known by two botanic names – either Aceros plicatus or Rhyticeros plicatus. It is native to Burma, Malaysia, New Guinea and the Bismarck and Solomon Islands (east of New Guinea). Its habitat is lowland forests up to 4,000 feet above sea level.

Appearance

Male Papuan hornbills are up to 36 inches in length and females up to 30 inches. As with all hornbills, the massive bill accounts for a considerable portion of this length.

Males have black plumage with a white tail and golden or ochre colouring on the head and neck. Females are black except for the white tail and their bill is shorter than that of males. Immature birds of both sexes resemble adult males in terms of plumage.

The legs are greyish black and the bill off-white with brownish-red at the base. The eyes are red and the facial skin blue-green. A feature of hornbills is the “casque” or bony helmet above the bill. In male Papuan hornbills this has up to eight folds in it, whereas females only have up to six folds.

Behaviour

Papuan hornbills are generally silent but sometimes emit a repeated “hoo”. However, the swishing of their wings can be heard as flocks of hornbills, sometimes hundreds strong, fly over the treetops.

Papuan hornbills feed on fruit in the forest trees.

Breeding

Breeding takes place from February, with the nest being in a tree hollow as much as 100 feet above the ground. One to three eggs are laid and incubated by the female. She seals herself inside the nest by blocking up the entrance with soil gathered from the forest floor. During this time she will be fed by the male who pushes food to her through a narrow slit in the wall she has made. Incubation takes about 30 days, but the female hornbill only breaks out of the nest when the young are about two weeks old.

© John Welford