There have been several sightings of a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbill checking on tree cavities at Changi (1, 2 and 3). So far there have been no reports of breeding.
On 8th January 2007, Emily Kang reported another sighting of the hornbills prospecting a cavity in an old tree in Changi (left).
“We saw this same pair on 8th Jan 07. We had wanted to visit the parakeets and cockatoos of Changi village, but this pair dominated the cockatoos’ hangout. I guess size matters.
“They were very loving indeed. So that’s what they were doing… looking for a nest site. Do they actually carve out the tree cavity?
“Still can hardly believe it, hornbills now getting common on the mainland when it was “extinct” in Singapore just a couple of years ago. First they were sighted in Ubin and now in Changi.”
Emily later added, “The male and female birds took turns to check out the two tree holes. While we were there, neither went in completely into the hole. We were not sure if there was courtship feeding… perhaps we didn’t or couldn’t see it. The female didn’t go far from the tree hole while the male flew across the road a couple of times but he always came back to her.”
If this pair breeds, then it will be the first reported case of breeding in Changi. We shall wait and see.
Emily Kang
Singapore
February 2007
