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Oriental Pied Hornbill eating tree-climbing crab

on 25th July 2011

The earlier post on the contributions of citizen scientists towards our knowledge of hornbill behaviour LINK attracted the attention of photographer David Tan. He was interested in a reference to these hornbills eating crabs, documented in Malaysia LINK. This reminded him of his encounter with an Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) at Singapore’s Chek Jawa, the nature park at the offshore island of Pulau Ubin in July 2010.

According to David, the hornbill spotted a tree-climbing crab (Episesarma sp.) on a mangrove tree. It flew to the crab as it was scrambling up the trunk, sort of “hovered” in front of it before grabbing it. Then it flew to perch on the railing of the boardwalk with the crab clamped in its bill (above). Moving down to the boardwalk (below left), it then dismantled the crab with the help of its foot and ate it up (below right).

David Tan
Singapore
July 2011

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

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