Classroom lesson 路 Wildlife馃嚬馃嚟 Thailand

The great hornbill

A huge bird with a yellow helmet and a wing-flap you can hear from far away

A great hornbill perched on a branch with its huge yellow beak and casque

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons 路 Shantanu Kuveskar

What is it?

The great hornbill is one of the largest forest birds in Thailand. It is about a metre long from beak to tail, with black and white feathers and an enormous bright yellow beak. On top of the beak sits an extra hollow lump called a 'casque', which makes it look like the bird is wearing a yellow helmet.

Tell me more

Great hornbills live in the tall trees of Thailand's rainforest. They eat mostly fruit, but will also snap up lizards, large insects and even small snakes. Their huge beak looks heavy, but it is actually hollow and full of air pockets, so it isn't as heavy as it looks.

When a great hornbill flies overhead, you can hear it from a long way off. The whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of its wing beats sounds a bit like a tiny steam train chugging through the trees. The noise is so loud because the feathers at the base of each wing are stiff and let air rush between them with every flap.

Hornbills do something extraordinary when it is time to have babies. The mother finds a hollow in a big tree, climbs inside, and the father helps her seal the entrance with mud, leaving just a small slit. She sits inside the sealed tree for months, looking after the egg and the chick. The dad brings fruit through the slit every day. When the chick is big enough, they break the wall down together.

Great hornbills mate for life. A pair can live together for over 30 years - longer than most pet dogs. They are an important symbol in Thailand and are protected in many national parks, including Khao Yai.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might it be a clever idea for a mother bird to seal herself inside a tree?
  2. 02What other animals do you know that have a special 'helmet' or crown on their heads?
  3. 03Hornbills are noisy fliers. Can you think of other animals that you hear before you see?
Try this

Classroom activity

Make a paper great hornbill - body, wings, and a separate yellow beak-and-casque you can fold and attach. Hang them up around the room. Then close your eyes and listen for the loudest 'wing beats' you can imagine - clapping, flapping, fanning paper.