The wrinkled hornbill is listed in the IUCN Red List as Endangered. It is also included in CITES Appendix II, in which the species may become threatened with extinction if trade continues. Wrinkled hornbill is protected nationally under Regulation of Minister of Environment and Forestry No. 20 of 2018.
The wrinkled hornbill’s body length measures 65-70 cm. Male and female hornbills can be distinguished by the color of their casques. The male’s casque is red whereas the female’s casque is yellow and smaller in size. Both male and female have yellow bills, but male wrinkled hornbill has white throat and female has whitish blue throat.
Lipid-rich fruits are a favorite of wrinkled hornbills. These include figs and Lauraceae and Burseraceae fruits. This hornbill also consumes animal food during low fruit season. The wrinkled hornbill does not eat as much figs as other hornbill species.
During breeding season, the female will remain inside her nest with the entrance sealed with a plaster of feces, soil and mud. After the egg hatches, the chick is pink in appearance after 10 days, and will open its eyes after 19 days.
The male will burst the seal open and the female leaves the nest. After hatching, the male parent feeds the chick with small animals, assisted by the female parent.
Forest cover loss in Kalimantan and Sumatra due to illegal logging and forest conversion pose as serious threats. In addition, haze from forest fires also threaten wrinkled hornbill population because the species does not like degraded habitats.
Wrinkled hornbills are nomad birds, and they like to move from one place to another.
