Huge crowd gathers to photograph rare rhinoceros hornbill at Sungei Buloh

The appearance of a rare rhinoceros hornbill at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve has excited the local community of birdwatchers and wildlife photographers.

A huge group of them were seen with their camera equipments out at the reserve's Eagle Point on Nov. 1, according to a photo posted by fellow photographer Chew Serteck.

This species of hornbills had been classified as locally extinct.

The last time a wild individual was seen in Singapore was more than a century ago in the 1800s — which explains the excitement by the community.

Chew jokingly called the group the "Singapore Photo Battalion" and said that the bird's appearance has made "the whole community of Singapore birders abuzz with excitement" this past week.

"Needless to say I was attracted to join the craze of viewing and capturing its image, a once in a 200 years opportunity," he wrote in a post on Facebook.

Mothership has reached out to Chew for more information.

First sighting of wild bird in Singapore in over a century

Responding to queries from Mothership, Richard White, Chair of the Singapore Bird Records Committee, shared that it is not known exactly where the bird came from.

The committee, made up of researchers and birdwatchers, assesses records in order to help the Bird Society of Singapore manage its bird database, which incudes local sighting records and species information.

"We've conducted enquiries locally, such as with [Mandai Wildlife Reserve's] Bird Paradise, to ask whether it might have escaped from their collection. It has not," White shared.

White also pointed out that the bird does not have identifying leg rings, which owners would use to mark their birds.

"This is another indication that it is likely not an escapee from captivity," he added.

This means that this is likely the first occurrence of a wild rhinoceros hornbill in Singapore for over a century, White explained.

Yong Ding Li, Head of Flyways and Species Conservation at BirdLife International, shared the same observation, noting that this individual is probably the first genuinely wild bird of its species in Singapore since the end of the 19th century.

According to White, there are populations of rhinoceros hornbills in southern Johor, the closest ones being found at Gunung Pulai and Gunung Panti.

Yong shared Gunung Pulai is only 21km from Sungei Buloh as the crow flies, and her past surveys at the site revealed four adults there.

"They are likely to breed," Yong said, adding that movement from Gunung Pulai to Singapore was not difficult for a rhinoceros hornbill.

This is the likely place of origin of the Sungei Buloh individual.

Top photos from Chew Serteck/Facebook