Recently, when the Little Black Mountain Nature Reserve and Mucheng Township in Longling County, Yunnan Province, carried out a wildlife survey in Mucheng Township in the surrounding area of the reserve, they photographed for the first time the birds of the hornbill family, which were identified by bird experts of Southwest Forestry University as crowned hornbills.
The crested hornbill is a national priority protected wild animal and is listed as a near-threatened species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to Han Lianxian, professor of zoology and master of science at Southwest Forestry University, there are currently 31 species of hornbills known in the world, of which 5 species are in China. The crowned hornbills have a narrow distribution area and extremely sparse populations. It is found in southwestern Guangxi, southern and central Yunnan, and southeastern Tibet in China. It mainly inhabits evergreen broad-leaved forests, feeds on the fruits of plants and insects, and prefers to eat stone fruits and berries.
Experts also introduced that the biggest feature of the crowned hornbill is that it likes to "travel" in pairs, live a "family-style" group life, and is also a rare "monogamous" in the large bird industry, so it is known as a "love bird", once one of them is unfortunate to "leave", the other will "never marry for life".
Mucheng Yi Lisu Township is the only border township in Longling County, with a length of 19.71 kilometers and a forest coverage rate of 75.77%. The discovery of the crowned hornbill not only filled the gap of hornbills in Longling County, broke a new record for bird species, but also enriched the wild bird resources in Longling County, and the number of known wild bird animals in Longling County has increased to 292. (CCTV reporter Chen Jian)