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BREEDING THE SOUTHERN PIED
HORNBILL
Anthracoceros albirostris convexus
AT CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES
SURREY, UK
Introduction
Southern Pied Hornbills were first bred successfully in the UK
at Chessington World ofAdventures, Surrey in 1995
where 2 chicks were raised successfully. It is believed thatthis was the
first recorded breeding of this species in Great
Britain. 1997 saw a failedattempt with 2
chicks being hatched but not reared. 1998 has been more successful with
2chicks fledging on July 11th. The following is an overvierw of the breeding
and husbandryat Chessington.
Species description and range
The Southern or Sunda Pied Hornbill Antheracoceros albirostris convexus is a
medium sizedblack-and-white Hornbill, its range covering Southern
Thailand, Malaysia
and theIndonesian Islands.
Noticeably larger than the nominate for of the species, the Southern Pied
Hornbill isan attractive bird. Sexually dimorphic, the male is generally
larger than the female witha large casque, the female is somewhat smaller
both in body and casque. Along with thesize of the bird, the generally
accepted term of recognising this sub-species is themarking on the tail, the
nominate species having black tail with white band at bottom, theconvexus
subspecies having a white tail with black central tail feathers.
Although not uncommon throughout its range, it is not widely kept and
according to theUK Studbook, only 5 specimens of this species are currently
held in the UK.
History
Southern Pied Hornbills have been kept at Chessington World of Adventures
since earlyJanuary,1995 when a pair was acquired on loan. The birds were an
established pair and hadbred previously at another location although the
chick died at 28 days.
Southern Pied Hornbill (Male)
Housing
The pair are housed in an aviary, approx. 12m sq. and 3.7m high with heated
indooraccommodation and a large pond. The enclosure is well planted and
contains a large willow,crab apples and an acacia tree. There are several
shrubs and many climbers over the wiresuch as Russian Ivy and Clematis. The
flooring substrate is both fine gravel and largepeat/soil beds.
The Aviary is shared with a breeding group of Azure-winged Magpies Cyanopica
cyana, andSouthern Masked Plovers Vanellus miles. Although the Hornbills are
large birds, there hasbeen very little interaction with the other species.
Diet
The standard diet fed to the Hornbills is 80% chopped fruit (apple, ripe
pear, grape,papaya, fresh dates, melon, occasionally banana - plus seasonal
fruits as available, redcurrant, cherries, etc) 20% soaked Kaytee Low-Iron
Mynah/Toucan pellet. Livefood isoffered in the form of mealworms, giant
mealworms, locusts and crickets, this is takeneagerly during the breeding
season but out of season only the locusts are generally ofinterest. Rat pups
are also offered but rarely taken outside fo the breeding season.
Breeding
The Hornbills have bred in two different nestboxes, the first breeding took
place in aconventional nestbox (50cm sq. by 1m high), the 1998 breeding was
in a large hollowed outlog. The site for the boxes is partially obscured from
public view by the willow andshaded by the climbing plants. A mixture of peat
and cleaned wood shavings is used to fillthe box .
The birds are not given access to the breeding boxes until mid-March,
early April, bywhich time both birds are vocalising frequently and the male
is feeding the female on aregular basis. The nestbox has a cross section of
hollow log, placed across the entry holeto stimulate the birds by allowing to
burrow the way into the box and also aid"mudding-up". Both birds
are extremely inquisitive when access is given and thefemale is normally in
the box within a day or two. During the following weeks, the pairspend much
time at the box, inspecting it and excavating material.
"Mudding-up" usually commences 2-4 weeks later with the male
carrying soiland bark chips up to the nestbox. The area of soil/peat is kept
well watered and themajority of nesting material was gathered from this area.
The bark chips are passed to thefemale inside the box where she uses them to
fill the nest cavity. Both mud, food andfaeces are used in the "mudding-up"
process.
Allowing for laying to commence 4 days after the female was completely
sealed in, andassuming an incubation period of 29 days, we began to add
livefood and rat pups to thestandard diet. This was initially done 3 times
daily but as the volume of food taken tothe nestbox increased, we were soon
putting another 3 extra feeds in. The initial livefoodof mealworms and
crickets was supplemented, as the chicks grew, with locusts, giantmealworms,
rat pups and chopped mice. All were eagerly taken to the female in the nest.
Due to the situation of the nestbox and other general noise it isextremely
difficult to hear any vocalisation coming from the box. It is usually about 7
to8 weeks after the hatch date that chicks could be heard calling when being fed
by thefemale. Full term for the female in the box has been 89 and 110 days
respectively. Whenthey break from the nestbox, the entire family exits within
a couple of hours, and whilethe female is chipping her way out the male is
highly vocal. The adult birds then callloudly to encourage the chicks to
leave the nestsite. In 1995, one of the chicks actuallyleft the nestbox
before the female. The fledglings continue to be fed by the adults for upto 8
weeks but chicks have been seen feeding independently 2 weeks after leaving
the nest.
Southern Pied Hornbill (Chick)
Summary
The Southern Pied Hornbill is a not an endangered species, yet due to the
very low numbersin the UK
and Europe, it is a species well worth breeding. It
gives a good grounding inHornbill husbandry skills before turning to other,
perhaps rarer, species of Hornbill. The Antheracoceros Hornbill Studbook is
run by Simon Tonge at London Zoo, anybody holding orknowing the whereabouts
of other Southern Pied Hornbills are strongly urged to contact himto assist
in the breeding programmme.
John A. Ellis
Chessington World of Adventures
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