By Catharine Goh
The state bird of Sarawak is the Rhinoceros Hornbill.
Also known scientifically as the "buceros hinoceps," it is the largest of the hornbill family and found throughout mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.
It is noted for the loud "whooshing" sound of its huge wings, which have a span of a metre or more, and its loud harsh call.
The Ibans of Sarawak believed the rhinoceros hornbill was the messenger of the devine and it still enjoys an exalted status as the East Malaysian state's state emblem.
Also known as the kenyalang by the locals, it is an omen bird to the lbans, who think it brings messages from the spirit world.
That is why carved and painted hornbills are part of so many rituals and ceremonies and besides being adopted as Sarawak's State Bird.
Exclusively fruit eaters, hornbills mate for life and their nesting habits are unique.
The incubating female seals herself into her tree hole nest with mud, leaving only a small aperture through which food is passed by the male bird.
When the young hatch the female breaks out, but reseals the nest and helps to feed the young until they are ready to leave the nest.
Black, and the size of a swan, the hornbill is distinguished by the casque, or second beak growing on top of its huge red and yellow beak.
The huge beak is used to crack nuts and fruit seeds in the forest but nobody have worked out what the casque is for.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
The state bird of Sarawak is the Rhinoceros Hornbill.
Also known scientifically as the "buceros hinoceps," it is the largest of the hornbill family and found throughout mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.
It is noted for the loud "whooshing" sound of its huge wings, which have a span of a metre or more, and its loud harsh call.
The Ibans of Sarawak believed the rhinoceros hornbill was the messenger of the devine and it still enjoys an exalted status as the East Malaysian state's state emblem.
Also known as the kenyalang by the locals, it is an omen bird to the lbans, who think it brings messages from the spirit world.
That is why carved and painted hornbills are part of so many rituals and ceremonies and besides being adopted as Sarawak's State Bird.
Exclusively fruit eaters, hornbills mate for life and their nesting habits are unique.
The incubating female seals herself into her tree hole nest with mud, leaving only a small aperture through which food is passed by the male bird.
When the young hatch the female breaks out, but reseals the nest and helps to feed the young until they are ready to leave the nest.
Black, and the size of a swan, the hornbill is distinguished by the casque, or second beak growing on top of its huge red and yellow beak.
The huge beak is used to crack nuts and fruit seeds in the forest but nobody have worked out what the casque is for.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
No comments:
Post a Comment