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An Extraordinary Oriental Pied Hornbill at Pulau Ubin

on 4th January 2012

“Oriental Pied Hornbills, southern race (Anthracoceros albirostris convexus) are a common sight around and within the Celestial Resort on the south-western end of Pulau Ubin, Singapore.

“I spotted a lone hornbill perched on a H-shaped wooden stand by the water’s edge on Wednesday 27th December, 2011. I did not notice anything unusual until I viewed the photos later.

“When it opened its bill while basking in the sun, I saw the silhouette of the extra lance between the upper and lower bills, and thought ‘what a long and stiff tongue it has!’

“A good look at my photos revealed to my surprise that it had an extra ‘lance’ protruding from its bill, just in front of its right eye (above left).

“I had only a compact camera with 12x zoom and did what I could to capture the hornbill. It was totally relaxed and I thought I could return to the site with KC Tsang who had a large telephoto lens on his DSLR camera. Alas, we did not have another opportunity like that. However, we did spot the same bird when it was participating in a grand fly-past with over 20 other hornbills later in the evening. Instead of flying high overhead with its friends, it came down and perched on a lamp-post, just long enough for us to see its spectacular lance through binoculars. KC Tsang was not able to get a shot at it, with lower foliage in the way, and it took off too soon.

“Here is a short video of it getting some sun after several days of overcast sky and rainy weather.”

Joyce SY Tan
Singapore
29th December 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

3 Responses

  1. Fascinating, as Howard said. I did a Google search (general & images) fro “horbill”, “beak” with “abnormalities” or “variation” or “mutation” or “deformities”. Only got one possible image here: http://www.parks-sa.co.za/forums/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=43519&start=0

    Another comment in this blog of “I have an image of a Indian Grey Hornbill with a beak deformity!” but cannot find image.
    http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=253141

    Amar

  2. very interesting …. and thanks to Dr Amar for the links. if the abnormal hornbill can feed and blend with other hornbills, i’m sure it will continue to live. not sure if this abnormality has any disadvantage.

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