Oriental Pied Hornbill brings home a bat…

YC Wee
on 13th April 2019
Male Oriental Pied Hornbill with a bat (video grab).

“Private individuals are also joining in the effort to encourage Hornbills to proliferate in Singapore. One home owner has set up nest boxes in his trees in his garden, and a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) has raised young there every season for the past five years.

Female Oriental Pied Hornbill in the nesting box (video grab).

“Besides enabling the fascinating process of courtship feeding and the sealing of the female into the nest box to be observed LINK, getting up close and personal also allowed the home owner to see what the Hornbills naturally ate. The male came home with a bat one day.

“Hornbills are omnivorous, and consume both fruits and small animals LINK. They are widely known to hunt down small birds, lizards and mice. Their consumption of bats has been noted by observers on Pulau Ubin. But this might be the first time that this has been recorded on video on mainland Singapore.”

Lee Chiu San
Singapore
10th April 2019

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.

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