Nesting birds construct a platform of sticks and twigs in the branches of trees, up to 15 meters off the ground. Both parents incubate the single large white egg for 28-30 days. When the chick hatches its eyes are closed and it is nearly featherless. Shortly before the chick is due to hatch, the lining of the parent bird's crop begins to thicken. This lining sloughs off to form a cheesy material which the parents regurgitate to feed the chick until it is 3-10 days old.
Crop milk is similar in nutritional content to mammalian milk.
Even after they have ceased to produce crop milk the parents continue to regurgitate the partially digested contents of their crops to nourish the young. The chick develops slowly and requires constant feeding and brooding for an extended period. Parents continue to feed the young bird even after it has left the nest at approximately one month of age. Despite this legal protection they remain under heavy pressure from illegal hunting and the demands of the southeast Asian pet trade. Their highly palatable flesh and unfortunate habit of landing on exposed perches to gawk at intruders has not helped them avoid illegal shooting.