Author/Chen Shengli
The migration of birds has given us a natural scenery to the world we live in. Many citizens have found that in the city where we live, there are more and more birds, and even some birds nest on the windowsills of citizens' homes, which constitutes a wonderful picture of birds and human beings living in harmony.
The two-horned hornbill (scientific name: Buceros bicornis): 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 back of the head and neck are white, and the rest of the upper body is black. The tail is white with broad black sub-terminal spots. The large wing coverts have white end spots, and the primary coverts are white, forming distinct white wing spots on the wings, which are extremely prominent on the black wings. The lower body thorax is black and the rest of the lower body is white. The mouth and helmet process are larger, the base is black, the end of the mouth and the top of the helmet are orange-red, the side of the mouth is orange-yellow, and the lower mouth is milky white.
Its natural habitat is low mountains below 1500 m above sea level and evergreen broad-leaved forests in the foothill plains, especially in the forest valleys near turbulent streams. It is found in China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The male adult bird of the two-horned hornbill has a large beak of 30 cm long and a large and wide helmet protrusion, the upper part of the helmet is slightly concave, and the leading edge forms two horn-like protrusions, like the big horn on the rhinoceros's nose, and like the helmet of the ancient samurai, very powerful, so it is named the double-horned hornbill. The upper mouth and the top of the helmet are orange-red, the side of the mouth is orange-yellow, and the lower mouth is ivory white. Its cheeks, chin and throat are black, the back of the head and neck are milky white, the coverts on the back, shoulders, waist, chest and tail are black, and the coverts on the abdomen and tail are white. The wings are also black, but the tip of the wing is white, and there are obvious white wing spots, which are extremely eye-catching. The tail feathers are white , but have black banded spots near the tip. The legs are grey-green and stained brown, and the claws are almost black. Females have similar plumage to males , except that the helmets are smaller. There are thick eyelashes growing on the eyes. The iris is dark red, the base of the mouth is black, the upper end of the mouth and the top of the helmet are orange-red, the side of the mouth is orange-yellow, and the lower mouth is ivory white or milky. The tarsals are grayish green and brown, and the claws are nearly black.
The two-horned hornbill has a large amount of food and a very mixed diet, mainly feeding on the fruits and seeds of various tropical plants, but also eating large insects, reptiles, rodents and other animal foods. It is common to forage in trees and sometimes on the ground. The hornbill's large beak looks bulky, but it is actually both a tool and a weapon, but it is very dexterous to use, picking berries with ease, peeling nuts easily, and catching rats and insects with ease.
It mainly eats a variety of wild fruits, but also snakes, lizards, large insects, rodents and grains. Breeding habits resemble those of the crowned hornbills. Feeds and inhabits the apical canopy of primary forests.
Although this species has a wide range, it occurs at a low density and is a blocky distribution. Moderately small numbers and the potential for rapid and continuous decline within their range of distribution, are therefore classified as near-threatened. It is rare in Numbers in China and has been included in the List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection.
Clear water and blue sky, birds and flowers, and living and working in peace and contentment intuitively reflect the effectiveness of ecological construction in these years, among which the birds that continue to increase in number have become the most agile existence. The number of wild birds is increasing year by year, and the variety is significantly increasing.