Cambodia Breaking News (Phnom Penh): This morning, on August 10, 2019, at 9:30 am, people found a large hornbill bird* lying dead on street 217, Khan Dongkor, Phnom Penh. The bird had died after it flew into some street wiring and electrocuted itself.
The police went to the scene and took the bird to the conservation team to be studied.



* Could anyone identify this bird more precisely ?

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2019 1:17 pm

* Could anyone identify this bird more precisely ?

Yeah, that's Hornbill Hank.

We used meet up for fruit shakes and dates on 217.and then chase birds in the massage places along there.

He had a big horn, and used travel broadly in the region.

R. I. P Hank, you daft old bird.

Bummer, a truly magnificent bird.
You always hear them before you see them flying over the forest (see last paragraph re steam locomotive)

GREAT HORNBILL Buceros bicornis
Common in small flocks in dense forest at any altitude where it can find the large trees it requires for nesting.
The species is even found where the forest comes closeto human habitation, as at Kep and Sihanoukville.
Recorded from Kampot, Kep, Kompong Speu, Kompong Cham, Kompong Thom, and Siem Reap.
It is a totem of one of the Phnong tribes in the hills of Ratanakiri.
Distribution (province) KMP, KOK, KCM, KSP, KTH, KRT, RTK, SRP.

Due to habitat loss and hunting in some areas, the great hornbill is evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (uplisted from near threatened in 2018).[1][35] It is listed in Appendix I of CITES. Declines in population have been noted in many areas such as Cambodia.[36] In Southeast Asia, birds are frequently shot at by poachers who mistake the species for the highly sought-after helmeted hornbill.[35] Molecular approaches to the study of their population diversity have been attempted

The great hornbill, also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals. The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity. It is predominantly frugivorous, but is an opportunist and will prey on small mammals, reptiles and birds.

The most prominent feature of the hornbill is the bright yellow and black casque on top of its massive bill. The casque appears U-shaped when viewed from the front, and the top is concave, with two ridges along the sides that form points in the front, whence the Latin species epithet bicornis (two-horned). The back of the casque is reddish in females, while the underside of the front and back of the casque is black in males.

The casque is hollow and serves no known purpose, although it is believed to be the result of sexual selection. Male hornbills have been known to indulge in aerial casque butting, with birds striking each other in flight.[3] The male spreads the preen gland secretion, which is yellow, onto the primary feathers and bill to give them the bright yellow colour.[4] The commissure of the beak is black and has a serrated edge which becomes worn with age.

The wing beats are heavy and the sound produced by birds in flight can be heard from a distance. This sound has been likened to the puffing of a steam locomotive starting up. The flight involves stiff flaps followed by glides with the fingers splayed and upcurled.

hanno wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2019 1:49 pm Great Hornbill. Not usually found in cities but I believe some Okhna is keeping a few,

Not arguing with you Hanno. I am sure that some Okhnas are keeping them.
Very strong totemic power.
But his quote does indicate the problems with keeping and breeding them.
Unfortunately not so difficult to catch, apparently.

"Very few hornbills are held in captivity, and few of them breed well. Females at the nests are extremely easy to capture, and birds caught in the wild are mostly female. Breeding them in captivity has been notoriously difficult, with fewer than a dozen successful attempts. Their extreme selectivity for mates and their long and strong pair bonds make them difficult to maintain for breeding"

NB, This is the Great Hornbill.
Cambodia also has the Wreathed Hornbill, and the Pied Hornbill

hanno wrote: ↑Sat Aug 10, 2019 1:49 pm Great Hornbill. Not usually found in cities but I believe some Okhna is keeping a few,

Along with the trees they once lived in.