China’s thirst for a bird more valuable than ivory

It wouldn't be wise to go head to head with a helmeted hornbill. They weigh 3kg and have their own built-in battering ram - a solid lump of keratin (a fibrous protein) that extends along the top of the bill and on to the skull. In all other species of hornbill, the casque is hollow, but the helmeted hornbill's is solid. They use it in head-to-head combat and to dig out insects from rotting trees.

Immature male helmeted hornbill

Helmeted hornbills live in Malaysia and Indonesia, their maniacal calls and hoots resonating through the rainforest. They have a reputation for being secretive and wary, though, and despite a wingspan of up to 2m and striking black and white feathers, you're more likely to hear them than see them.

They have good reason to be shy - thousands are killed each year for their casques, shot by hunters who sell the heads to China. For hundreds of years it was highly desired by Chinese craftsmen and Japanese carvers, who made artefacts for the rich and powerful.

Between 2012 and 2014, over a thousand heads were confiscated from smugglers in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province alone. It is estimated that about 6,000 of the birds are killed each year in East Asia. The casque, for which hunters are willing to risk arrest and imprisonment, is sometimes referred to as "ivory". It's a beautiful material to carve, smooth and silky to the touch, with a golden-yellow hue.

19th-century Japanese belt ornament in hornbill ivory, showing natural preen gland colouring

Illegal it may be, but trade continues undercover, and hornbill ivory is worth about S$9000 per kilogram - three times more than elephant ivory! The killing of Africa's elephants and rhinos for their tusks and horns is well reported, but the helmeted hornbill's plight often slips under the radar.

Said hornbill researcher, Yokyok Hadiprakarsa,

"If no-one pays attention, this bird is going to become extinct.”

Danau Sentarum National Park is a wetland of international importance located in West Kalimantan, a province of Indonesia

But it's not just hunting that threatens this slow breeding creature - its habitat is also under pressure. As the appetite for palm oil grows in the West, developers are encroaching on Asia's rainforests. As a result, the helmeted hornbill is considered Near Threatened, and its population should be carefully monitored.

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)