Do you see this bird in Singapore?
A lot of people saw it at Singapore roadside or at home balcony, but do you know that it is the most romantic bird in the world? Its name is Hornbill - the state bird of Sarawak.
Hornbills are one of such species with a distinct love story. Look at the reasons below and understand why it is so romantic!
有在新加坡看到它吗？
有些人在新加坡路边、徒步区、甚至住家附近都有看过它的行踪，但你知道它是世界上最浪漫的鸟吗？它就是砂拉越的州鸟 - 犀鸟。
1. Only one partner in their whole life.
一生只有一个伴侣。
Hornbills are generally known to be monogamous. They choose a mate that they will stick to their entire living. Look at them, and you will think of an old man holding hands with his lifetime partner walking in a sunset garden.
犀鸟几乎都是一夫一妻制，一生中不会再找其他的伴侣。
2. They trust each others.
它们绝对地信任对方。
The courtship and bonding of these birds are critical, as the female must trust the male to provide her with everything when she is incubating and raising chicks. These hornbills make their nests inside tree trunks, and the female stays inside with the eggs. After the eggs are laid, the male collects mud to wall up the entrance to the tree cavity. They leave a very small hole, just large enough for the male to feed the female, and later the chicks, and for the female to defecate through the hole.
雌性必须相信雄性在孵化和饲养小鸡时会为她提供一切。犀鸟在树干里筑巢。雌鸟产卵后，雄性会收集泥土堵住树洞的入口。它们留下一个很小的洞，雌鸟需要很信任雄鸟负责任地来喂食。
3. Daddy Hornbill works super hard to provide for his family.
为了家人，它什么都愿意做。
One of the best way to get someone’s heart is through their stomach. The male hornbill brings food to the female as a way to prove that he is capable of providing for the family. The diet of the hornbill is dominated by fruit, but it will take any insect, small reptile, rodent, and smaller birds that it can catch.
获得佳人芳心的最佳方法之一是喂饱它。雄性犀鸟给雌鸟带来食物，以此证明他有能力养家糊口。犀鸟的饮食以水果为主，但它可以捕捉到任何昆虫、小型爬行动物、啮齿动物和小型鸟类。雄鸟每天都得没日没夜地找食物。
4. You die, we die.
你若亡，我们也随你去。
Once Mummy hornbill has completed their nest and the nesting period commences, her partner goes out in search for sustenance throughout the period of four months. It’s really intense because the male is the sole-provider and the only means of survival for his partner and babies. He will really take care of the well-being his family, flying day in and day out a couple of times in a day just to make sure they have enough. Should anything bad happen to the Daddy Hornbill, mother and babies will not survive.
犀鸟妈妈完成筑巢后，犀鸟爸爸会在四个月的时间里外出寻找食物。雄鸟是雌鸟和幼鸟的唯一生存手段。如果犀鸟爸爸发生任何不好的事情，母亲和婴儿将无法生存，只能同归于尽。
5. Family means everything to the hornbills.
家，就是一切。
Mummy and Daddy Hornbill will always keep their little ones close. They fly together, sleep together, eat together, and perch on branches together.
犀鸟妈妈和爸爸会一直陪伴着它们的孩子。它们会一起飞、一起睡觉、一起吃饭、一起栖息。
6. Female hornbill also plays an important part.
She needs to check the cavities based on food availability and safety. Hornbill faces a number of threats, including loss of its rainforest habitat, as well as hunting for its meat, and its skull and feathers. Habitat destruction has led to the loss of the large trees the species requires for breeding, which in turn makes it easier for poachers to find the hornbill.
Some Dayak people, especially the Ibanic groups, believe it to be the chief of worldly birds or the supreme worldly bird, and its statue is used to welcome the god of the augural birds, Sengalang Burong, to the feasts and celebrations of humankind.
雌性犀鸟在筑巢时也起着重要作用。她需要确保落脚点附近都有食物供应，不然犀鸟爸爸就有大难临头了。犀鸟面临着许多威胁，包括失去雨林栖息地，它们繁殖所需的大树也渐渐消失。有些人也通过捕猎它们来获取头骨和羽毛。
一些达雅克人，特别是伊巴尼亚族人，认为犀鸟是鸟类的首领或至高无上的鸟类，它的雕像被用来欢迎预兆鸟之神Sengalang Burong参加人类的盛宴和庆祝活动。