Sumba Hornbill: Highly endangered

Sumba Hornbill (Rhyticeros everetti), a highly restricted bird whose status has now been raised to endangered, is endemic to the island of Sumba, one of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. Loss of habitat and hunted for food (the bird is roasted and eaten to relieve rheumatism and asthma) and the wild-bird trade have seen a significant decline of its population to around 4,000 individuals. Ingo Waschkies was there in June 2009 and brought back the following images.

According to Ingo, “Most birders see it once or twice on a three day trip to Sunda, but it is not common, and it is very hard to get close because it does not really frequent the smaller forest areas that are close to the roads – you have to trek and carry your gear. I was lucky that I was in a somewhat open part on one evening when a flock of around 10 birds came through. My camera was packed for hiking, I grabbed it as fast as I could and got a few handheld shots.”

Images by Ingo Waschkies.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.