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The Great Hornbill is a sight to behold. At 1.5 meters in length and with a
wingspan equaling this spotting a flock of Hornbills soaring high above the
canopy is something you will remember forever. The hornbill is an iconic bird, and
of the 57 species spread throughout Africa and Asia, Thailand holds 13 of
them. This family of birds ranges from
the Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Rufous Hornbill, Helmeted hornbill and just to name but a
few, however the
Oriental Pied hornbill is the only sub species considered commonly found, the
rest are at risk, near threatened or endangered
within Thailand.
The Hornbill family (Bucerotidae) get their name from the Greek word for Cow Horn. They maintain an omnivorous diet containing fruits, seeds and small animals such as lizards as well as insects. One of their favorite foods is the fig and fig trees in Thailand are a magnet for wildlife. If you want to spot various bird and animal species including the hornbill the best place to be is besides one of these trees. The hornbills liking for fruits and seeds also make it an important seed disperser within the forest ecosystem. Under the canopy of the jungle there is little breeze to carry seeds very far so animals and birds like the hornbill carry these seeds long distances in their gut and deposit them, with a good helping of fertilizer, a fair distance from the parent tree.
The hornbill is generally monogamous, spending their whole
lives together as a pair. During the breeding months of January to June the
female will wall herself into a rotten tree stump or crack in a cliff face
using mud, feces, rotten wood and clay and leaving only the tip of her beak
showing. Here she will stay until her chicks are ready to fledge. The male must
bring every piece of food to her beak in order for her and the babies to
survive. If for whatever reason the male
does not return or dies then generally both the mother and chicks will perish
also. They can lay up to 6 eggs at a time and the babies once fully fledged can
live for up to 50 years! One of the reasons for the hornbills decline is that
nest spaces are becoming harder and harder to find. Hornbills cannot make their
own nest hole and rely on finding abandoned woodpecker holes, small cracks in
the rock face or dead trees to nest in. Unfortunately with the decline of the
forest there is also a decline in nesting space and ultimately the capability
of breeding.
Where to find them?
Well, Hornbills are spread throughout the country, you just have to head to a natural area and be lucky on the day. Khao Yai National Park is a birders paradise and boasts 8 hornbill species. One of the more difficult to spot, the White Crested Hornbill, can be found in Khao Sok National Park whilst the Great Hornbill can be seen everywhere from Thong Pha Boom National Park right through to Koh Phra Thong or Bang Lang National park in southernmost Yala province. They are there to be found, it will take time but you will have a lot of fun and the best thing you can do is hire a local guide for the day to take you to the most likely places they will be. Make sure you set out early as anytime after 10 in the morning and they will have already found their feeding spots for the day. Like us they will want to stay out of the midday sun and are therefore difficult to spot during this time. However, if you do mange to make it early in the day you may be lucky and like Thailandecoportal.com stumble across a nesting pair as shown in our pictures in this article.
Get out there and experience Thailand’s Natural Wonders, today!
