Rare footage of great hornbill chick captured in Dehong, W Yunnan

Three great hornbills perch on a tree branch in Yingjiang, south Yunnan.

In the morning of July 6, a team of Yunnan-based nature photographers, for the first time, captured a footage of one great hornbill chick getting out from a tree hole and flying away in the Tongbiguan Nature Reserve in Yingjiang county, south Yunnan’s Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture.  

“I feel extremely excited to be able to capture a footage of such, and we have been waiting for this moment for more than a month,” said He Haiyan, a female photographer.

Great hornbill, also known as concave-casqued hornbill, has been considered a “flagship species” living in tropical areas, because it can play as a indicator of the overall environmental well-being of rain forests.

“We have found more than 200 hornbills with different kinds breeding chicks in Yinjiang over the past few years. In other words, the environment here is good enough to support their life,”said Ban Dingying, the head of Yingjiang Birdwatching Association.  

According to Ban Dingying, great hornbills have a rather special way for breeding.

Every time after mating, the female bird would hide herself and the chicks in a tree hole and seal the entrance with mud or berries. Only a small “window” would be left to receive food from the male bird.

Such confinement can last up to 90 days, until the chicks are fully grown and able to find food and water themselves. And this is the time that young great hornbills have to leave the hole and start their our life.

“I hope these adorable great hornbills can remind more people of the importance of ecological conservation,”said He Haiyan, while watching the footage.