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Jurong Bird Park Jurong Bird Park

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  • Hornbills and Toucans

Hornbills and toucans

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27 spacious and naturally landscaped aviaries over an area of 2,000m² house our collection of these beautiful birds. Guests are often greeted upon entry by a cacophony of loud honks. We have 19 hornbill species and Jurong Bird Park is the first to breed the black hornbill under human care.

 

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What makes it unique

Same, same, but different

Same, same, but different

Though they look  alike with their large, outlandish beaks, hornbills are an Old World group unrelated to the toucans of the New World. While the stronghold of the toucans is in Central and South America, hornbills are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, with a single species in New Guinea. The two groups of birds are displayed together as they have adapted to their differing environments in similar ways and share the same diet and outward traits.
Beak differences

Beak differences

The toucan’s bill is crisscrossed by many thin bony supporting rods within and encased in a thin horny outer sheath. For hornbills, support for their heavier beaks comes in the fusion of the first two neck vertebrae – they are the only birds to have this structure. This reinforcement is crucial for hornbills usually have a bony keratin-covered casque surmounting their bills. The helmeted hornbill’s casque is a solid block of bone making up 11% of its body weight.
Natural and cosmetic colour

Natural and cosmetic colour

Most toucans have colourful plumage in all shades of black, blue, green, brown, yellow or red with brilliantly coloured stripes or patches on the bill. On the other hand, the plumage pigments of hornbills are melanin-based and therefore comparatively dull. Some species of hornbill resort to preen gland oils to cosmetically enhance the bill, casque and white areas of plumage with red, orange or yellow colour.  The great hornbill is one such example – it colours its casque and feathers with the yellow pigment in its preen gland oil.
Nesting habits

Nesting habits

All hornbills except ground hornbills nest within tree holes. They are known to plaster the entrance with mud and droppings till only a narrow slit is left. The incarcerated female and chicks rely solely on the male for food. Toucan nesting differs – smaller toucans may take over woodpeckers’ holes. Bigger toucans appear to nest regularly in hollows in decayed tree trunks but they never seal their nests up and both parents may join their young in the nest at night.

Animals

Black hornbill

Black hornbill

Black hornbill

Bushy-crested hornbill

Bushy-crested hornbill

Bushy-crested hornbill

Great hornbill

Great hornbill

Northern African grey hornbill

Northern African grey hornbill

Northern African grey hornbill

Northern African pied hornbill

Northern African pied hornbill

Northern African pied hornbill

Oriental pied hornbill

Oriental pied hornbill

Papuan hornbill

Papuan hornbill

Papuan hornbill

Red-billed hornbill

Red-billed hornbill

Red-billed hornbill

Red-billed toucan

Red-billed toucan

Red-billed toucan

Rhinoceros hornbill

Rhinoceros hornbill

Rhinoceros hornbill

Silvery-cheeked hornbill

Silvery-cheeked hornbill

Silvery-cheeked hornbill

Southern ground hornbill

Southern ground hornbill

Southern ground hornbill

Southern rufous hornbill

Southern rufous hornbill

Southern rufous hornbill

Toco toucan

Toco toucan

Toco toucan

Trumpeter hornbill

Trumpeter hornbill

Trumpeter hornbill

Von der Decken’s hornbill

Von der Decken’s hornbill

Von der Decken’s hornbill

Western long-tailed hornbill

Western long-tailed hornbill

Western long-tailed hornbill

White-crowned hornbill

White-crowned hornbill

White-crowned hornbill

Wreathed hornbill

Wreathed hornbill

Wreathed hornbill

Wrinkled hornbill

Wrinkled hornbill

Wrinkled hornbill

Together for Wildlife

Hornbill ivory

Hornbill ivory

The helmeted hornbill, found mainly in Indonesia, Borneo and Thailand, has a helmet-like casque atop its short spike of a bill, which the males use in prolonged head-to-head airborne combat. These casques are sold as “red ivory” on the black market for several times the price of elephant ivory. 

The IUCN Status

LC Least Concern
NT
VU
EN
CR Critically Endangered
EW
EX Extinct
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

DD

Data Deficient

Unknown risk of extinction

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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8.30am - 6.00pm (Last entry at 5.00pm)

Open from Thursdays to Sundays, eves of and on Public Holidays, and selected school holidays

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2 Jurong Hill
Singapore 628925

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