Nest predation by Oriental Pied Hornbills Anthracoceros albirostris in urban Singapore
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86 BirdingASIA 35 (2021): 86–91
NOTEBOOK
Nest predation by Oriental Pied Hornbills
Anthracoceros albirostris in urban Singapore
STACIA LOONG, YONG CHEE KEITA SIN, PHILIP JOHNS, TIM PLOWDEN, DING LI YONG, JESSICA LEE
& ANUJ JAIN
Introduction accounted for nearly 12% of their total diet during
With their large size, unique casques and distinctive that period (Cremades & Ng 2012). This confinement
build, hornbills are among the most iconic families period is comparable to the average Oriental Pied
of birds in the Old World tropics (Kinnaird & Hornbill confinement period of 78.2 ± 5.2 days in
O’Brien 2008). Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros natural cavities (Ng et al. 2011).
albirostris (ssp. convexus) was first reported in Recently, there has been an increasing number
Singapore in the 1850s, but the lack of records of reported instances of Oriental Pied Hornbills
thereafter suggests that the species may have been depredating the nests of various bird species in
nationally extirpated during the 20th century Singapore (Banwell & Lim 2009, Tan & Foo 2019)
(Gibson-Hill 1950). The species eventually and even raiding pet bird cages (Lay 2021). We aim
recolonised Singapore several decades later, with to synthesise information on nest predation by
the first recent record on Ubin island in 1994 (Lim Oriental Pied Hornbills in Singapore to determine
1998, Wells 1999, Lim 2009, Wang & Hails 2007). the ecological implications of predation behaviours
The species has further benefited from the on the hornbills and other bird species. To this end,
‘Singapore Hornbill Project’ that commenced in we systematically reviewed the published and grey
the late 2000s, and which involved active literature, including citizen science records
reintroduction and the provisioning of nest-boxes deposited in online databases. We then analysed
(Cremades et al. 2011, Cremades & Ng 2012, Teo the number of nest predation records over time in
2012). Over this period, a (formerly captive) relation to annual bird census datasets to assess
breeding pair from the Jurong Bird Park was the relationship between the hornbill’s population
directly reintroduced into the Bukit Timah area, over time and predation frequency.
while artificial nest-boxes were set up in Ubin to
encourage wild birds to use them (Cremades et al. Methods
2011, Ng et al. 2011). Today, Oriental Pied Hornbill Literature review
is widely distributed across Singapore, and is Primary sources were obtained by ad lib. sampling
common at a number of sites on both Singapore through authors’ opportunistic observations of nest
and Ubin islands. predation records in Singapore (as per Altmann
Oriental Pied Hornbill is among the most 1974). Sightings of nest predation in Singapore
adaptable of Asia’s hornbills and is capable of between 1994 and October 2020 were compiled
exploiting a variety of wooded habitats, including from an online search of Raffles Museum of
secondary forests, coastal forests and forest edges Biodiversity Research, National University of
(Wells 1999, Kinnaird & O’Brien 2008, Lim 2009). Singapore (RMBR, now Lee Kong Chian Natural
The species is also able to survive in urban History Museum) and Nature Society (Singapore)
environments given sufficient food and large trees databases with the keyword ‘Oriental Pied
for nesting (Chong 1998, Jamil et al. 2015). While Hornbill’. Additionally, records were compiled from
largely frugivorous, the species is known to be an Google sea rches for internet sources wit h
opportunistic omnivore (Kinnaird & O’Brien 2008), photographic and/or video evidence, published
a nd has been obser ved catching a n ima ls, blog posts such as the Birds Ecology Study Group
particularly insects and small lizards (Teo 2012) (BESG), Facebook groups such as Birds, Insects
and small birds through the predation of nests, in and Creatures of Asia (BICA), Bird Sightings,
Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand Singapore Birders and Nature Society (Singapore).
(Banwell & Lim 2009, Pierce & Pobprasert 2013, Our review was supplemented by a systematic
Rahman et al. 2019). A study of an Oriental Pied literature review with the following keywords:
Hornbill pair using an artificial nest-box in ‘O r ie nt a l P ie d Hor nbi l l ne s t pre d at ion’,
Singapore showed that the male brought nearly ‘Anthracoceros albirostr is nest predat ion’,
6 kg of animals to feed the female and four chicks ‘Anthracoceros albirostris predation’, ‘hornbill nest
during the confinement period of 85 days, which predat ion’, ‘hor nbi l l predat ion’, ‘hor nbi l l
BirdingASIA 35 (2021) 87
cannibalism’ and ‘hornbill carnivore’ in the we carried out a Kendall rank correlation coefficient
bibliographic databases (Google Scholar, Web of test. All significance levels were set at p
88 Nest predation by Oriental Pied Hornbills Anthracoceros albirostris in urban Singapore
were observed in only six incidents and played a spatiotemporally patchy in urban environments
supporting role in taking eggs. Thirteen of the 18 (Kinnaird & O’Brien 2005, Rahman et al. 2019).
records (72%) occurred during the breeding season This may help explain why nearly half (44%) of
between December and May. In four cases, the males the nest predation accounts occurred in urban
were seen passing an egg or chick to the female in areas where fruit resources may be scarce.
an active nest. In the cases without a female, males In urban habitats, specifically near the Yale-
successfully extracted the eggs but were not observed NUS campus and in the Pasir Ris area of Singapore,
eating them. Eight (44%) predation events occurred Oriental Pied Hornbills have been observed moving
in urban areas; the rest were from well-wooded parks from tree to tree actively looking for nests (PMJ &
and forested nature reserves. TP pers. obs.). These sightings seem to suggest that
The Singapore-wide annual population count more open urban habitats may even provide an
of Oriental Pied Hornbill in the last five years advantage for these behaviours. By searching
(2016–2020), based on Nature Society Singapore’s through relatively open tree sub-canopies, hornbills
Annual Bird Census, is 14.6 ± 6.8 individuals. The in urban areas may be exploiting an unoccupied
Kendall-tau correlations showed that annual niche: a behaviour generally not reported for other
population counts of Oriental Pied Hornbills and predatory birds in Singapore. Studies comparing
year of observation were positively correlated the differences in their foraging methods in various
(Kendall’s tau=0.58, z=3.5, p
BirdingASIA 35 (2021) 89
control the population of the non-native Tanimbar the quandary of introduced, threatened species. Front. Ecol.
Corella in Singapore; however, it may also Environ. 15(1): 35–41.
potentially diminish a globally significant Jamil, N., Ismail, A., Zulkifli, S. & Rahman, F. (2015) Population size
population of the species. Studies have shown that and density of Southern Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris
naturalised populations of globally threatened convexus) in human settlement area in vicinity of Sungai Karang
species like C. goffiniana in urban areas are of Forest Reserve, Malaysia. Acta Biologica Malaysiana 4: 26–31.
global importance for research and conservation Kemp, A.C. (1995) The hornbills. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
as native island populations of such species Kinnaird, M.F. & O’Brien, T.G. (2005) Fast foods of the forest: the
dwindle (Gibson & Yong 2017). This event, however, influence of figs on primates and hornbills across Wallace’s Line. Pp.
is likely to be a novel occurrence, with only one 155–184 in J.L. Dew & J.P. Boubli (eds.) Tropical fruits and frugivores.
observation over the past decade. Presently, there Dordrecht: Springer.
is no unequivocal evidence that nest predation by Kinnaird, M.F. & O’Brien, T.G. (2008) The ecology and conservation of Asian
the hornbill has substantially impacted the hornbills: farmers of the forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
reproductive success of any bird species in Lamperti, A.M., French, A.R., Dierenfeld, E.S., Fogiel, M.K., Whitney,
Singapore. K.D., Stauffer, D.J. & Parker, V.T. (2014) Diet selection is related to
In conclusion, our review shows that nest breeding status in two frugivorous hornbill species of Central
predation by Oriental Pied Hornbill may have Africa. J. Trop. Ecol. 30(4): 273–290. doi:10.1017/s0266467414000236.
become more common in Singapore. This may be Lay, B. (2021) Hornbill in S’pore bites pet bird out of cage through tiny wire
explained by: (1) an increase in the hornbill grills & eats it. Accessed at https://bit.ly/31OFuZp on 06/04/2021.
population; (2) better documentation; or (3) better Lian, Y.M. (2017) Luring the hornbill chick out of the nest. Accessed at
adaptation by the hornbill towards finding an easy https://besgroup.org/2017/02/15/luring-the-hornbill-chick-out-
high-protein food source in an urban environment. of-the-nest/.
Eggs or chicks acquired through nest predation Lim, K.S. (1998) First sighting report: Oriental Pied Hornbill. Iora 1: 156–158.
may even be an important food source to sustain Lim, K.S. (2009) The avifauna of Singapore. Singapore: Nature Society
the urban hornbill populations. Future studies (Singapore).
should attempt to determine the ecological impacts Leong, K. (2020) Accessed at https://www.facebook.com/photo.
of nest predation by Oriental Pied Hornbills php?fbid=10156779795371644.
through robust and random sampling methods. Ng, S.C., Lai, H., Cremades, M., Lim, M.T.S. & Mohammed-Tali, S. (2011)
Studies should a lso attempt to assess t he Breeding observations on the Oriental pied hornbill in nest cavities
reproductive success of urban birds in sites where and in artificial nests in Singapore, with emphasis on infanticide-
large natural predators such as hornbills are cannibalism. Raffles Bull. Zool. 24(1): 15–22.
present, compared to those where they are absent. Poonswad, P., Tsuji, A. & Jirawatkavi, N. (2004) Estimation of nutrients
delivered to nest inmates by four sympatric species of hornbills
References in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. Ornithol. Sci. 3(2): 99 –112.
Altmann, J. (1974) Observational study of behaviour: sampling doi:10.2326/osj.3.99.
methods. Behaviour 49(3–4): 227–266. Pierce, A.J. & Pobprasert, K. (2013) Nest predators of southeast Asian
Banwell, H.M. & Lim, J.C.W. (2009) Observations on a successful nesting of a evergreen forest birds identified through continuous video
pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris, Shaw & Nodd, recording. Ibis 155(2): 419 –423.
1790) at Changi Village, Singapore. Nature in Singapore 2: 275–281. Rahman, F., Ismail, A. & Jamil Nurul-Huda, M. (2019) Food items and
Chan, Y.H., Zafirah, M., Cremades, M., Divet, M., Teo, R.C.H. & Ng, S.C. foraging sites of the Oriental Pied-Hornbill (Anthracoceros
(2007) Infanticide-cannibalism in the Oriental Pied Hornbill albirostris) during breeding season in Sungai Panjang, Sabak
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Cheng, B.O. (2021) Accessed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ Tan, Y.C. (2020) Facebook Groups. Accessed at https://www.facebook.
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Peninsular Malaysia. In P. Poonswad (ed.) The Asian hornbills: ecology Spotted-wood Owlet. Accessed at https://besgroup.org/2019/07/23/
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Cremades, M., Lai, H., Wong, T.W., Koh, S.K., Segran, R. & Ng, S.C. (2011) Teo, R. (2012) Conserving hornbills in the urban environment. CityGreen
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Gibson, L. & Yong, D.L. (2017) Saving two birds with one stone: solving passerines. Cambridge, Massachusetts, US: Academic Press.90 Nest predation by Oriental Pied Hornbills Anthracoceros albirostris in urban Singapore
Wee, J. (2012) Oriental Pied Hornbill raided Little Heron’s nest. Accessed Ding Li Yong, Anuj Jain
at https://besgroup.org/2012/09/04/oriental-pied-hornbill-raided- & Yong Chee Keita Sin
little-herons-nest/. Nature Society (Singapore)
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female. Accessed at https://besgroup.org/2017/02/01/male-oriental-
pied-hornbill-brought-an-egg-for-the-breeding-female/. Tim Plowden
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Ding Li Yong & Anuj Jain
Stacia Loong & Yong Chee Keita Sin BirdLife International (Asia)
Department of Biological Sciences Singapore 247672
National University of Singapore
Singapore 117543 Jessica Lee
Email: stacialwy@gmail.com Mandai Nature (formerly Wildlife Reserves
Singapore)
Philip Johns Singapore 729826
Science Division (Life Sciences)
Yale-NUS College
Singapore 138533
Appendix 1. Summary of nest predation accounts by Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris in Singapore.
Source/ Predated Number of eggs/
No. Date observer Location Habitat species chicks predated Behaviour
1 March Banwell & Changi Village Urban Not known 3 chicks Male observed feeding
2009 Lim 2009 female and chicks inside
the nest
2 2011 Muhammad Sungei Buloh Wetland Olive-backed 1 chick Male raided the nest
Fadhli Bin Wetland reserve Sunbird Cinnyris
Ahmad jugularis
3 August Birds Ecology Pasir Ris Park Park Striated Heron 2–3 eggs Male stole eggs from
2012 Study Group Butorides striata nest to eat and to feed
(BESG) (Wee female
2012)
4a January BESG (Wee Singapore Park Not known 1 egg Male feeding an egg
2017 2017) Botanical Garden into an active nest
4b February BESG (Lian Singapore Park Not known 1 chick One used a dead chick
2017 2017) Botanical Garden to lure its own chick out
of the nest to take its
first flight
5 March Yong Chee Sungei Buloh Wetland Brown-throated 1 chick Male raided the nest
2018 Keita Sin Wetland reserve Sunbird and swallowed the chick
Anthreptes whole after killing it
malacensis
6 May BESG (Teh Pasir Ris Park Park Spotted None Male seen flying towards
2018 et al. 2019) Wood-owl Strix an owl chick but was
seloputo chased away by its
parent
7 February BESG Sungei Buloh Wetland Olive-backed 1 chick Male raided the nest
2019 (Yap 2019) Wetland reserve Sunbird
8 March Christopher Greenwood Urban Black-naped 1 chick Male raided the nest
2019 Lee Asplund Crescent Oriole Oriolus
Playground chinensis
9 May Tan & Foo Kent Ridge Urban Yellow-vented 3 chicks A pair (one male & one
2019 2019 Campus Bulbul female) was seen
Pycnonotus hopping around the
goiavier trees before proceeding
to raid the nestBirdingASIA 35 (2021) 91
Source/ Predated Number of eggs/
No. Date observer Location Habitat species chicks predated Behaviour
10 May Tim Plowden The Edgewater Urban Black-naped 2 eggs On the male ’s fourth
2019 Condo, Pasir Ris Oriole visit, he was
accompanied by two
others, (one male & one
female), who helped to
raid the nest
11 July Tim Plowden The Edgewater Urban Oriental None Male made two
2019 Condo, Pasir Ris Dollarbird attempts over two
Eurystomus weeks to raid the nest
orientalis but was forced to retreat
by the parents
12 April Nature Society Baker Street Urban Not known 1 egg Male was seen feeding
2020 (Singapore) an egg into an active
Facebook nest
group (Leong
2020)
13 September BICA – Birds, Sungei Buloh Wetland Pink-necked 2 chicks Two birds. Only one (a
2020 Insects, and Wetland reserve Green-pigeon male) was seen eating
Creatures of Treron vernalis the two chicks, while the
Asia Facebook other bird (sex
group unknown) stood by
(Terekhova
2020)
14 October Bruce Swales Wilby Road Urban Unknown 1 chick Two males and one
2020 female raided the nest
in a palm tree. One male
successfully stole a chick
and all three flew off
15 October Bird Sightings Pasir Ris Park Park Unknown 1 chick A pair was observed and
2020 Facebook the male had a chick in
Group (Tan its beak
2020)
16 January Bird Sightings Changi Beach Park Park Tanimbar A chick or The hornbill successfully
2021 Facebook Corella Cacatua an egg raided the nest
Group goffiniana (confirmed by behaviour
(Chen 2021) of the corella), despite
attacks by the corella
17 January Jeremiah Loei Pasir Ris Park Park Crested None Male attempted to raid
2021 Goshawk the nest but was chased
Accipiter away by the goshawk
trivirgatus
18 February Nature Society Unknown housing Urban Pigeon sp. 1 chick A male accompanied by
2021 (Singapore) estate eight others raided a
Facebook nest and successfully
Group killed one chick, but the
(Cheng 2021) chick was too big to be
eaten and was left
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