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Hornbill Perch, Borneo, Indonesia, 1997

A rhinoceros hornbill—one of 54 species of hornbills—perches on a fig tree in Gunung Palung National Park.

The casque, a protrusion on the upper bill that gives hornbills their name, may play a role in sexual selection or amplify the birds' calls. From loud barks to thunderous booms, hornbill cries resound across a range that extends from the dry savannas of sub-Saharan Africa to the lush forests of Melanesia.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, " The Shrinking World of Hornbills," July 1999, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Tim Laman