You're standing in a tropical rainforest in West Africa.

Towering trees and deep green vegetation surround you.

It's warm and humid as a light rain falls.

Things seem pretty groovy and you're vibing on the humming sounds of the jungle.

But suddenly, you're startled by a wailing cry up in the understory.

What could be making that strange sound?

A monkey?

More likely it's some kind of unholy spirit, like a

banshee coming to warn you of imminent death. Or maybe it's the ghost of Christmas past or something,

I don't know. But then you see the creature, a black shape flapping noisily through the canopy.

It comes to rest on a high branch. Using your binoculars, you get a a black shape flapping noisily through the canopy.

It comes to rest on a high branch.

Using your binoculars, you get a good look at it.

To your relief, you see that it's just a large bird.

A bird with a disproportionately, comically massive head.

The head is pretty much all beak, including a weird tubular crest thing jutting from the

top. Leathery blue skin surrounds the bird's large eyes. Blue waddles dangle from its chin. The bird looks at you

while you look at it. Those eyes seem to reflect intelligence, or at least a kind of confidence. Consider yourself

very lucky. You're in the presence of a hornbill. This one is a male Saratigna Atreta, aka the black

casked hornbill. Birds like this one, members of the Hornbill family, are key players in

the tropical ecosystems of both Africa and Asia. There are many fascinating things for us to learn

about them.

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