A rare hornbill is found in a residential garden in Ho Chi Minh City on December 24.
Pham Van Tinh, 43, was standing outside his home in Xuan Thoi Son Commune at about 6 pm on December 24 when he noticed a large bird flying in from nearby fields and landing in bushes close to his house.
Seeing that the bird looked unusual, with a long, large beak, he approached and caught it. The bird weighed nearly 3 kg. Realising it was a hornbill, a rare and endangered species, Tinh reported the case to local authorities.
Tinh said this was the second hornbill spotted in the area. A neighbour living about 500 metres away had also found a hornbill the previous day.
Local police instructed Tinh to contact forest rangers, who asked the family to temporarily care for and safeguard the bird before officers arrived to take custody the following day.
The hornbill, scientifically known as Nisaetus cirrhatus, is listed in group IIB, covering endangered and rare wildlife species protected in Vietnam.
