Malaysia Birds S/S FDC

Malaysia Souvenir Sheet FDC
Name: Unique Birds of Malaysia
Date of Issue: 21 January 2009

Birds have often captivated the imagination and inspiration of mankind. From watching and studying this winged wonders, mankind has learned to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of these creatures.

Malaysia has over 742 species of birds, totaling, about 7% of the worlds population. Approximately 63 of these species are endemic (found no where else in the world) to our country.

Denominations:
RM5: Plain-pouched Hornbill
Worldwide, there are about 54 recognised species of hornbills and Malaysia is home to 10 species. The Plain-pouched Hornbill (Aceros subruficollis) has a rather black body and a pouch without any visible marking, hence the name "plain-pouched". The females have a blue pouch while the males have a yellow pouch. Overall, the Plain-pouched Hornbill closely resembles the Wreathed Hornbill except for the lack of corrugations on its beak and the lack of any visible marking on its pouch.

Plain-pouched Hornbills are found at deciduous, dry and humid evergreen forests, mainly in the lowlands and even hills to about 1,000 m elevations. It has a varied diet, mainly comprising of fruits, but also invertebrates and small vertebrates. Plain-pouched Hornbills makes its habitat in the area between south-east Myanmar to northern Peninsular Malaysia.

Globally, the Plain-pouched Hornbill is classified as Vulnerable. The mass movement of the Plain-pouched Hornbills across the Belum - Temengor landscape has occurred over a decade since its discovery. The highest number of Plain-pouched Hornbills in the world was documented by the MNS in 2008 at Temengor with a total of 3,261 individuals.

Wreathed Hornbill
The Wreathed Hornbill (Aceros undulatus) is a colourful species of hornbill found in forests from far north-eastern India and Bhutan, east and south through mainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas.

It is about 70 to 100cm in size, with both sexes looking almost alike. These birds prefer broad-leaf evergreen mixed deciduous forests and forest on islands and are found at a maximum elevation of about 1,800m.

This species has a large range with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 1 million to 10 million km square. Globally, the Wreathed Hornbill is classified by IUCN as "Least Concern" because presently, it numbers seems to be stable.