Great hornbill chick photographed leaving its nest in the wild in Yunnan: where exactly, and what level of protected animal is it?
In nature, there is a bird with a large beak 20 to 30 cm long, called the great hornbill. And recently, a wild great hornbill chick was photographed leaving its nest in Yunnan! So where exactly? And what level of protected animal is it?
1. Wild great hornbill chick photographed leaving its nest in Yunnan! Where exactly?
Recently, within the Yingjiang County area of the Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve in Dehong, Yunnan, a photographer captured rare footage of #a great hornbill chick leaving its nest# and flying into the rainforest. The great hornbill is one of the iconic species of the tropical rainforest, and experts have pointed out that this is clear evidence that the local rainforest is well protected and the ecological environment is continuing to improve.
2. What level of protected animal is the great hornbill?
The great hornbill is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species 2016 ver3.1——Near Threatened (NT).
Although this species has a relatively wide distribution range, it occurs at low density and is patchily distributed. Its moderate population is small and may decline rapidly and continuously within its distribution range, so it is listed as Near Threatened. It is scarce in China and has been included in the national key protected wild animal list.
Moreover, the great hornbill is one of the iconic species of the tropical rainforest and an extremely rare wild bird. Experts have pointed out that this is proof that the local rainforest is well protected and the ecological environment is continuing to improve!
3. Introduction to the great hornbill!
1. What does it look like
The great hornbill is a large bird, with a body length of 119-128 cm, a wingspan of 146-160 cm, and a weight of 2.15-4 kg. Males are larger. The hindhead and neck are white, and the rest of the upperparts are black. The tail is white with a broad black subterminal band. The greater coverts have white tips, and the primary coverts are white, forming conspicuous white wing patches on the black wings. The chest is black, and the rest of the underparts are white. Both the bill and the casque are large; the base is black, the tip of the bill and the top of the casque are orange-red, the sides of the bill are orange-yellow, and the lower bill is milky white.
2. Where does it live
It mainly inhabits evergreen broad-leaved forests in low mountains and foothill plains below 1500 m in elevation, and especially favors forest valleys near rushing streams. It is distributed in China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia.
3. What does it eat
The great hornbill has a large appetite and a very varied diet. It mainly feeds on the fruits and seeds of various tropical plants, and also eats large insects, reptiles, rodents and other animal foods. It generally forages in trees, and sometimes on the ground.
It mainly eats various wild fruits, and also feeds on snakes, lizards, large insects, rodents and grains. Its breeding habits are similar to those of the oriental pied hornbill. It feeds and roosts in the canopy of primary forest.
The above is the relevant introduction to the wild great hornbill chick photographed leaving its nest in Yunnan. As China places more importance on nature conservation, the environment is getting better and better, and various species are also developing well, which is a wonderful thing for us.