Melaka: The recent sighting of three hornbills in the coastal housing estate of Ujong Pasir has bewildered residents here.
The birds, believed to be Oriental pied hornbills, were spotted a week ago by a resident in Taman Aman.
“I spotted the birds roosting on the roof of my terrace house and was quite surprised as they were hornbills,” a resident known as Tan, in her 40s, said at her home near here.
She said the birds later flew off and she thought that was the last she would see of them.
However, on Monday, Tan said the birds were spotted perched on the branches of a Neem tree in front of her home.
“I have never seen hornbills in the wild in Melaka before and wonder how they ended up here,” she added.
Danny Soon, 54, a Klang resident who was visiting his in-laws here, was also surprised to see the birds.
“I have been coming to Ujong Pasir for the last 30 years and this is the first time I have seen hornbills,” he said.
The New Straits Times went to visit the neighbourhood yesterday but the birds were nowhere in sight.
The hornbills were recorded in a 20-second video clip while on the Neem tree in the housing area.
The birds were black and white with large, light-coloured beaks, which fit the description of the Oriental pied hornbills.
This hornbill species can be found in habitats such as broad-leaved evergreen forests, mixed deciduous forests, and island forests.
This species is found in northern India, eastern Nepal, southern China, Myanmar, southern Thailand, Indochina, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali.