User:Aruff46299/Helmeted hornbill

Cultural Significance
Along with the closely related Rhinoceros Hornbill, the Helmeted Hornbill is prominent in the cultural practices of many indigenous groups in northern Borneo. These birds are featured in various legends, symbolizing themes such as life, death, and bravery. In the Punan culture, helmeted hornbills guard the passage between life and the afterlife and judge the worth of those who pass. This species is also associated with beliefs regarding headhunting. The Orang Ulu of northeastern Malaysia only allowed those who has taken a head to wear the Helmeted Hornbill's feathers. Beyond spiritual symbolism, the bird's casques and feathers play a vital role in various rituals and ceremonies. The Orang Ulu carved elaborate grave markers, centerpieces, and ear-rings from hornbill casques. Many native peoples used the two long, central tail feathers to adorn ceremonial attire and weapons for weddings, funerals, and other official functions. Hornbills were traditionally hunted for their meat using blowpipes.

 Call 

Their call is two parts, the first consisting of a series of loud, intermittent barbet-like hoots, sometimes double-toned and over two dozen in number, which sound like a "toop" or "took" noise. These hoots gradually accelerates to climax in a cackle reminiscent of laughter; this is thought to advertise information about the caller, such as age, size, and fitness, to listening conspecifics. The calls are audible up to 2-3 km away and can go on for minutes at a time.

 Habits 

Helmeted hornbills mostly eat the fruit of strangler figs. They are thought to be territorial and monogamous, although little is known about their social behavior. The birds breed once a year, producing a single chick. Mother and chick live inside a sealed tree cavity for the first five months of the chick's life. Their specialized nesting behavior makes them particularly vulnerable to poaching and deforestation. Males fight over territory on the wing, ramming each other with their casques. Such encounters are called aerial jousting. Females accompany males during an approach in an aerial joust but veer off in opposite directions during the collision.

References