JungleDragon is a nature and wildlife community for photographers, travellers and anyone who loves nature. We're genuine, free, ad-free and beautiful.

Join

Super Shy Helmeted Hornbill The largest hornbill species on Borneo by length. Even with its large size, it is the most timid of birds. This species of hornbills is extremely cautious and cannot withstand the sight of a human. Here it trying its best to hide behind the thickest leafiest part of the tree. However, once it realizes I&#039;m watching it, it immediately took off. It is for the best this species of hornbill is being very shy as they are critically endangered as they are hunted for their hard &quot;helmet&quot; which are nicknamed the &quot;red ivory&quot;, more precious than elephant ivory in the black market. This is recorded during our few days observation to document the ecological value of this fig species. Over these period of few days, I could still not get it to reveal its whole body. The good news it that we are now very sure that this fig species holds great importance for reforestation projects as it is confirmed as an important food source to help this very rare hornbill. Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on long-distance flying canopy birds like these hornbills to disperse its seeds onto another host tree far away. <br /> <br /> The Spiky Fig (Ficus cucurbitina):<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104607/very_ripe_spiky_fig.html" title="very ripe Spiky Fig"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3336/104607_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=5qopVxsHhn44zcYVELPxZxKFY2E%3D" width="200" height="160" alt="very ripe Spiky Fig Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world&#039;s spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104603/spiky_fig_tree_branches.html" title="Spiky Fig tree branches"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3336/104603_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=VY38tPaVDnvTfpZsqxBLuVrLT%2Fs%3D" width="114" height="152" alt="Spiky Fig tree branches Branches of the fig tree growing out from the host tree. It is fruiting high up in the canopy (20m high) where the fig tree grows on another host tree. Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world&#039;s spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer" /></a></figure> Geotagged,Helmeted hornbill,Malaysia,Rhinoplax vigil Click/tap to enlarge PromotedSpecies introCountry intro

Super Shy Helmeted Hornbill

The largest hornbill species on Borneo by length. Even with its large size, it is the most timid of birds. This species of hornbills is extremely cautious and cannot withstand the sight of a human. Here it trying its best to hide behind the thickest leafiest part of the tree. However, once it realizes I'm watching it, it immediately took off. It is for the best this species of hornbill is being very shy as they are critically endangered as they are hunted for their hard "helmet" which are nicknamed the "red ivory", more precious than elephant ivory in the black market. This is recorded during our few days observation to document the ecological value of this fig species. Over these period of few days, I could still not get it to reveal its whole body. The good news it that we are now very sure that this fig species holds great importance for reforestation projects as it is confirmed as an important food source to help this very rare hornbill. Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on long-distance flying canopy birds like these hornbills to disperse its seeds onto another host tree far away.

The Spiky Fig (Ficus cucurbitina):

very ripe Spiky Fig Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world's spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

Spiky Fig tree branches Branches of the fig tree growing out from the host tree. It is fruiting high up in the canopy (20m high) where the fig tree grows on another host tree. Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world's spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

    comments (3)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    What a fantastic bird, so awful it's still being hunted. Glad you saw it, it's a valuable species intro. Posted 4 years ago
    1. View _ChunXingWong_'s profile
      _ChunXingWong_
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Very important bird indeed which needs more awareness on it. Posted 4 years ago
  3. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    That's a great find! Looks pretty big. Posted 4 years ago

Sign in or Join in order to comment.

The Helmeted hornbill

The helmeted hornbill is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque accounts for some 11% of its 3 kg weight. Unlike any other hornbill, the casque is almost solid, and is used in head-to-head combat among males.

Info 1 0
Similar species: Hornbills
Species identified by _ChunXingWong_
View _ChunXingWong_'s profile

By _ChunXingWong_

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
Uploaded Nov 26, 2020. Captured in Unnamed Road, Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia.
country flag of Malaysia Explore Malaysia 6,517 3,884 0

This photo also appears in

Discover more photo collections