Participants of the recent 5th International Hornbill Conference in Singapore visited the Jurong BirdPark immediately after the conference. At the Hornbill Chit-Chat sited at one end of the hornbill enclosure, a tame Great Hornbill (Buceros bicronis) was on display (above left).
It was a hot afternoon and the keeper had the bird on his arm and encouraging our group to feel the yellow neck feathers. The yellowness of the feathers had a rather unpleasant smell and we were asked to wash our hands after.
The bird was later returned to its perch. Suddenly it hunched down, stretched out both its wings and remained in this outstretched position for about a minute or two (above right). It then returned to its normal position.
Having recently posted an account of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) sunbathing, I suddenly realised that the Great Hornbill was snatching a brief respite to soak in the sun.
YC Wee
Singapore
April 2009
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