Tarictic hornbill

Scientific name: Penelopides panini

Country: Philippines

Continent: Asia

Diet: Fruit - frugivore, insects - insectivore, ants - myrmevore

Food & feeding: Omnivore

Habitats: Tropical rainforest

Conservation status: Endangered

Relatives: African ground hornbill

Description: Hornbills gets their name from the horny 'casque' that many have on the tip of their bill. It is usually hollow and made mainly of keratin (the same material as feathers, hair and finger nails). It may amplify the bird's calls or indicate age, sex or status. The female is completely black with some tail markings and some bare skin around the face and the male is black and white. The tarictic part of their name refers to their distinctive call which sounds like "te-rik-tik-tik-tik".

Lifestyle: These are birds of mature forest, seeking out fruiting fig trees where they will gorge themselves on the fruits. Their long and powerful beak (similar to that of a toucan) is ideal for handling fruits and can also be used for extracting beetles and insect larvae from bark. They live in small groups, foraging in the forest and eating mostly fruit. They also catch flying ants and beetles in mid-air.

Family & friends: Like most hornbills, they live in small noisy groups within the forest.

Growing up: At breeding time, three to four eggs are laid in a clutch and the female and the eggs are 'sealed' into a nest (often in a hole in a tree). The male helps the female to block up the entrance with mud, sticky food and droppings, leaving a vertical slit through which the male passes food to the female and chicks. He may bring up to 21 food items at a time, preferring animal items while the chicks are growing. Incubation takes 28 to31 days and the young fledge fly by themselves after another 50 to 65 days, when they break out of the nest. This sealed nest protects the young from predators until they are old enough to defend themselves.

Conservation news: Like other fruit-eaters such as fruit doves and fruit bats, they play an important role in the wild for their part in seed dispersal. They do this by leaving their droppings and regurgitating large seeds. They are threatened by being hunted for food and their forest habitat is being cleared, mostly for timber.

Tarictic hornbills are an endangered species and a conservation breeding programme is in place in Europe.