With the forest in flower and fruiting, the magnificent hornbill is out and about gliding slowly from tree to tree seeking out its favourite fruit. On our recent voyage from Palangkaraya, glimpsing this great black bird, with the white bar across its tail feathers and heavy, horned bill, caused great excitement.
The female raises her young in a hole of a tree, closing the hole with mud and twigs so that only a tiny space remains for the male to feed her. Giving her and her precious offspring protection from predators, she depends solely on her mate for food.
Visiting villages and gliding through the lakes by canoe, we finished our journey at Bukit Rawi, where the powerful hornbill, the Burung Tinggang, becomes a symbol of the afterlife in the burial rituals, appearing atop tall poles, and waiting to carry the souls on the their onward journeys.
