Placeholder — replace: wreathed hornbill in flightBirds of Danum · Hornbill
Wreathed hornbill
Rhyticeros undulatus
A big pale-billed hornbill with a coloured throat pouch, given away in flight by a distinctive puffing wingbeat.
The bird
Field notes
The wreathed hornbill is best learned in flight: a heavy silhouette with a puffing, almost laboured wingbeat and a loud rush of air, crossing high between fruiting trees. Up close, note the ridged "wreaths" on the bill and the bare throat pouch — yellow in the male, blue in the female — which is the quickest way to sex one.
They wander widely to follow fruit, so numbers rise and fall week to week. When the figs near the walkway are on, you can get satisfying scope views of a pair working the crowns.
Seen in Danum
Canopy and emergents over fruiting trees, from the walkway and the tower; often first detected as high flyovers.
Best site & season
Resident but nomadic — presence tracks fruiting. Dawn and late afternoon for the flight lines.
Find it on these
- Birdwatching in Danum — tracking the fruiting trees
- Rhinoceros hornbill — the signature species
- Danum Intensive — 1 week — photography flexibility
Placeholder — replace: wreathed hornbill in flight — replace with a true species photo
Placeholder — replace: high flyover at dusk
Placeholder — replace: fruiting-crown habitatRelated
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