Last week, I was working at home when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught something whizzing by my window that was considerably larger than the many Myna birds we get here. When I looked out, I couldn't believe what I saw. A veritable hornbill was sitting on my balcony railing!
After my initial surprise, I gingerly grabbed my cell phone and started filming through the window, expecting it fly off any second. But after a short while, I noticed that it was pretty at ease, so I got up from my desk and walked around to my open balcony door.
You can see that it spots me but it's not impressed and just goes about its business. Literally, in fact, because it actually takes a dump. That "pinggg!" you hear is from a marble-sized seed hitting the blade of the shovel that you can see the handle of, behind the drying rack.
I had actually seen a hornbill earlier that day, likely the same one, when I'd stepped out on the balcony after hearing a sudden cacophony of bird alarm calls. I was too late to see the whole palaver, but I did spot a wagtail doing a wounded bird impression on the ground a short ways away from my balcony, which made me think that there was a predator of some sort nearby. When I turned to my right, I saw the hornbill sitting atop some shrubbery in our lobby entrance below. It was holding a grey downy chick in its bill, which a moment later, it gulped down. This, obviously, was the reason for that wagtail's performance a moment ago.
This whole scene had actually blown me away, because here in Singapore, hornbills were almost extinct not so long ago. Mind you, I've since heard that they're making a bit of a come-back, and, as it happens, I'd seen and heard one, a few months ago, when I was cycling along a little patch of jungle about a mile away. But to see them this close and this daring, that was a bit of a surprise, especially since this area, as opposed to that little jungle patch, is decidedly more residential.
Anyway, watch the clip here. Incidentally, the call in the background is of one of the few Asian Koels that torment us with their endless calls each dawn.
Mr Hornbill did fly off a while later, but only as far as my neighbor's balcony, which gave me a slightly different perspective
After my initial surprise, I gingerly grabbed my cell phone and started filming through the window, expecting it fly off any second. But after a short while, I noticed that it was pretty at ease, so I got up from my desk and walked around to my open balcony door.
You can see that it spots me but it's not impressed and just goes about its business. Literally, in fact, because it actually takes a dump. That "pinggg!" you hear is from a marble-sized seed hitting the blade of the shovel that you can see the handle of, behind the drying rack.
I had actually seen a hornbill earlier that day, likely the same one, when I'd stepped out on the balcony after hearing a sudden cacophony of bird alarm calls. I was too late to see the whole palaver, but I did spot a wagtail doing a wounded bird impression on the ground a short ways away from my balcony, which made me think that there was a predator of some sort nearby. When I turned to my right, I saw the hornbill sitting atop some shrubbery in our lobby entrance below. It was holding a grey downy chick in its bill, which a moment later, it gulped down. This, obviously, was the reason for that wagtail's performance a moment ago.
This whole scene had actually blown me away, because here in Singapore, hornbills were almost extinct not so long ago. Mind you, I've since heard that they're making a bit of a come-back, and, as it happens, I'd seen and heard one, a few months ago, when I was cycling along a little patch of jungle about a mile away. But to see them this close and this daring, that was a bit of a surprise, especially since this area, as opposed to that little jungle patch, is decidedly more residential.
Anyway, watch the clip here. Incidentally, the call in the background is of one of the few Asian Koels that torment us with their endless calls each dawn.
Mr Hornbill did fly off a while later, but only as far as my neighbor's balcony, which gave me a slightly different perspective
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