Photographers capture rare images of hornbill baby

Photographers captured rare moments of a baby wreathed hornbill coming out of its nest in the wild at Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve in Yunnan province in late August.

It was a first for China, as people witnessed the baby bird, a male with blue eyes, exploring the world.

Before the baby left its nest in a tree trunk, the father and mother pecked away the mud that covered opening. After that, the mother checked out the surrounding environment, and when she confirmed it was safe, she squeezed out herself out of the hole, and the baby followed. Then they flied into the forest.

The Benghe area of the reserve is sometimes referred to as "Chinese hornbill valley". The wreathed hornbill is a national first-class protected species.

The new images offer valuable information that will be used in research to protect the species, experts said.

[Video by Yin Yihu, Zhu Bianyong and He Haiyan/For chinadaily.com.cn]