Black Hornbill

Black Hornbill

Anthracoceros malayanus

Silhouette: Rohit N · PhyloPic

LCNTVUVulnerableENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Danum Valley Conservation Area

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

301 Verified sightings at Danum Valley Conservation Area From 2019 to 2026
4,186 In all 9 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black Hornbill

The black hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus) is a species of bird of the hornbill family Bucerotidae. It lives in Asia in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. The species has a selectiveness towards the environment and resources when it comes to reproduction. It is a lowland specialist. This organism will only start breeding and nesting when there is a large supply of fruits available, and in trees of larger size. When there are limited resources available, and may curtail nesting for years when there is a low availability of fruits(4).

It is the major seed disperser for Durio graveolens, a species of durian. The connection is strong enough to reflect in some of the common names for the fruit: The Kenyah and Dayak peoples call it durian anggang (lit. 'hornbill durian'), and in Malay it is called durian burong/durian burung (lit. 'durian bird'). It also has a role in seed disbursement for Vitex pinnata.

It is known to fly for hours at a time. It is threatened by hunting and habitat loss. It is a frugivore, eating a wide range of fruits—over 50 species. It most commonly feeds on figs and Vitex pinnata; its diet includes Sterculia cordata and Durio... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:42

Malaysia · 2026

© Kim Chuah Lim · XC1075509 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:33

Malaysia · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC973423 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:28

Malaysia · 2022

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC730652 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~60%
2 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~60%
3 Tanjung Puting National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
4 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
5 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
6 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
7 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
8 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
9 Kerinci Seblat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
2 Zoo Opole 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
3 Gembira Loka Zoo 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity
4 Birdworld 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
5 Kuala Lumpur Bird Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
6 Parque del pueblo 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
7 Johor Zoo 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
8 Aquaria KLCC 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
9 Bangkok Aquarium 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black Hornbill in Danum Valley Conservation Area?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Hornbill sighting in Danum Valley Conservation Area on a given day, based on 301 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 88th most-seen of the 258 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black Hornbill in Danum Valley Conservation Area?

January

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black Hornbill in Danum Valley Conservation Area on a given day, against about 10% in May–June, September and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Black Hornbill?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Hornbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Black Hornbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Danum Valley Conservation Area (301 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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