MDIS Blog

Main Menu

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Topics
        • Business & Management
        • Career Management
        • College
        • Engineering
        • Event
        • Fashion & Design
        • Health & Nursing
        • Information Technology
        • Languages
        • Life Sciences
        • Lifestyle
        • MDC
        • Media & Communications
        • Psychology
        • Safety Management
        • Tourism & Hospitality
        • Uncategorized
  • Campus
  • Student Life
  • Preview Sessions
  • + Become A Contributor

logo

Header Banner

MDIS Blog

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Topics
        • Business & Management
        • Career Management
        • College
        • Engineering
        • Event
        • Fashion & Design
        • Health & Nursing
        • Information Technology
        • Languages
        • Life Sciences
        • Lifestyle
        • MDC
        • Media & Communications
        • Psychology
        • Safety Management
        • Tourism & Hospitality
        • Uncategorized
  • Campus
  • Student Life
  • Preview Sessions
Featured BK RowLife Sciences
Home›Featured BK Row›Nature sightings in MDIS – The oriental pied hornbills

Nature sightings in MDIS – The oriental pied hornbills

By Dr Poon Kar Lai
22nd October 2018
2354
0
Share:
oriental pied hornbills

“Hey, there’s a big bird on the tree!” – I heard a student cry out to her friend as I was walking past block F in the MDIS campus. I looked up and there it was; on the tree sat a majestic looking bird with a large curved bill, about half a meter tall, clad in monochrome plumage. The students started discussing among themselves what kind of bird that was – a toucan? A hornbill?

In fact, it is not uncommon to see these winged visitors on MDIS grounds. Yes, I’m referring to the hornbills; they either come alone or as a flock of up to 4 members. Sometimes they rest on lamp posts, or on tree branches behind block E and around block F. When sighted, students and staffs would quickly whip out their smart phones to take pictures of these spectacular birds.

hornbills

I remember that my first encounter with hornbills was at Pulau Ubin a few years back; I did not think I would see them in the central ‘urbanised’ part of the main island. I googled and found out that what we see now is the fruits of a successful wildlife rehabilitation effort that begin in the early 2000s – Singapore Hornbill Project and the subsequent hornbill breeding programme. These conservation projects are especially important for endangered species such as the hornbills that were once absent from our shores for about a hundred years, only to be spotted again in Pulau Ubin in the 1990s.

The oriental pied-hornbill, scientifically named Anthracoceros albirostris that belongs to the family Bucerotidae, is a native to Singapore. Their population decreased drastically in the early 1900s mainly due to a loss of habitat from urbanisation and hunting. To propagate the birds for the conservation project, nest boxes specially designed to simulate their natural breeding environment – hollow cavities in tall old trees, were placed on tall trees at designated parts of the island and on Pulau Ubin. In fact, after laying eggs in tree cavities, hornbills exhibit a unique cooperative breeding behavior; the mother seals herself up in the cavity for about three months to take care of her eggs until they hatch. She relies on her life time partner to deliver food to her several times a day through a narrow slit until she leaves the cavity. The nest boxes proved to be a success and played a critical role in increasing the hornbill’s population in Singapore.

hornbills in mdis

Hornbills, sometimes known as King of the Forest, plays an important role in forest ecosystems as seed dispersers and pollinators. The birds use their large horn-like bills, for which they are named after, to break up large fruits for their own consumption. In the process, they provide for smaller birds too and help to scatter seeds. Apart from fruits, hornbills also feed on insects and small animals. Despite the sheer size of their beak, their tongue is very short, too short to swallow food caught at the edge of the beak, so much so that they have to toss food down their throat with an upward jerk of their head.

https://www.mdis.edu.sg/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/oriental-pied-hornbills-in-mdis-5.mp4
https://www.mdis.edu.sg/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/oriental-pied-hornbills-in-mdis-6.mp4
Video credit: Dr Kelvin

Due to their large beaks, hornbills are sometimes mistaken for toucans and vice versa. However, hornbills and toucans are not related evolutionarily. This is a fine example of convergent evolution. In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution denotes a process whereby non-related organisms, in this case, the hornbills and toucans, independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments – the tropical rain forest.

hornbills in mdis

The hornbills (of the Bucerotidae family in the order Coraciformes) live in tropical rainforests in Africa and Asia, while toucans (of the Ramphastidae family in the order Piciformes) reside in Central and South America. Further, they differ in a few anatomical structures. Look closely at their eyes the next time you encounter a hornbill, you will see it has eyelashes that are absent in most other birds, including the toucans. The most striking difference however, is the presence of a distinctive feature called a casque, on top of the beak of hornbills. A hornbill’s casque, smaller on the females than on the males, is an example of sexual dimorphism. Biologists often speculate on the function of the casque, including support (for the huge beak), acoustics (hollow structure functioning as a resonance chamber), sexual attraction and species recognition.

So fascinating are the hornbills that it is small wonder that they are subjects of studies for ecology and conservation biology. One certainly need not take up a module in Biodiversity and Evolution (the MDIS School of Health and Life Sciences offers these modules under its degree programme) to appreciate nature but it certainly helps with understanding of biology and hence learning how to protect these treasures of the natural world.

Reference:

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/mygreenspace/issue-15-vol-4-2012/conservation/hornbills-in-the-lion-city
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/birds/albirostris.htm
https://www.mdis.edu.sg/academic-programmes/school-of-life-sciences/bachelor-of-science-hons-biochemistry

TagshornbillsNature
0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Avatar

Dr Poon Kar Lai

Lecturer, School of Health and Life Sciences.

Related articles More from author

  • Globalisation's Impact on Higher Education
    Featured BK RowLanguages

    Globalisation’s impact on Higher Education

    23rd April 2021
    By MDIS
  • Life Sciences

    Introducing Actinomycetes: The Producers of Valuable Metabolites

    9th December 2021
    By Tze Wee Tee
  • MDIS Immersion programmes
    Featured BK RowLanguages

    MDIS Immersion programmes

    30th April 2018
    By MDIS
  • Mighty the Lion
    CampusEventFeatured BK Row

    NDP 2021 Dance of the Nation

    24th August 2021
    By MDIS
  • MDIS Open House 2018
    EventFeatured BK RowFeatured Full Width SliderFeatured Post

    More than 10 engaging school activities for your participation at MDIS Open House 2018

    22nd February 2018
    By Yeo Hong Peng
  • fashion guide
    Fashion & DesignFeatured BK Row

    Linguistics & the Fashion Design Process

    21st December 2017
    By MDIS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may also like

  • Career Management

    Are Employees Burned Out At Work?

  • Featured PostTourism & Hospitality

    MBS Epicurean Market 2019

  • Winter themed Movie
    Featured BK RowMedia & Communications

    3 movies to watch during winter season for that winter feel!

Categories

  • Business & Management (28)
  • Campus (5)
  • Career Management (22)
  • College (17)
  • Engineering (11)
  • Event (32)
  • Fashion & Design (37)
  • Featured BK Row (64)
  • Featured BK Video (10)
  • Featured Full Width Slider (57)
  • Featured Post (83)
  • Health & Nursing (5)
  • Information Technology (29)
  • Languages (17)
  • Life Sciences (24)
  • Lifestyle (8)
  • MDC (14)
  • Media & Communications (29)
  • Psychology (8)
  • Safety Management (8)
  • Student Life (18)
  • Tourism & Hospitality (26)
  • Uncategorized (10)

Follow us on Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

TAGS

  • Study environment
  • studying tips
  • return to work anxiety
  • fashion trend
  • Digitalisation
  • MDIS School of Fashion and Design
  • covid-19 jobs
  • biomedical sciences
  • digital communication
  • good habits
  • nursing course
  • marketing
  • managing workplace stress
  • read
  • world book day
  • nursing degree in Singapore
  • Immersion programmes
  • fashion designers
  • social media
  • climate change
  • life sciences
  • improve learning
  • safety environment
  • 7 habits of highly effective people
  • Performing Arts
  • Fashion Design
  • MDIS Events
  • Studying in Singapore
  • MDIS Alumni
  • Health & Nursing
THINK SUCCESS. THINK MDIS.
Copyright© 2022. MDIS Blog. All Rights Reserved.
     
Where lifelong learning begins