The helmeted hornbill is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque accounts for some 11% of its 3 kg weight. Unlike any other hornbill, the casque is almost solid, and is used in head-to-head combat among males. It is a belief among the Punan Bah that a large helmeted hornbill guards the river between life and death.
Helmeted hornbill
Illustration of a mature male bird, distinguishable its casque shape and red throat area
19th-century Japanese belt ornament in hornbill ivory, showing natural preen gland colouring
Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper mandible. Hornbills have a two-lobed kidney. They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of mainly insular species of hornbill with small ranges are threatened with extinction, namely in Southeast Asia.
Hornbill
The brightest colours on most hornbills, like this pair of knobbed hornbills, are found on the beaks and bare skin of the face and throat.
Close-up of great hornbill
Close-up of head of a Malabar grey hornbill showing eyelashes