Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.
In July, four Malabar pied hornbills were spotted near agricultural fields along the Muyyam river in Kannur district, Kerala, a first for the area. The sighting was considered a marvel given that the species is rarely spotted outside dense forests. Another hornbill species, the Indian grey hornbill, has been breeding successfully in Gujarat’s Gir National Park, where 40 individuals was translocated in 2021.
Despite these instances, hunting and other threats continue to loom over the hornbills in India. In June, the forest department arrested three people in connection with the hunting of a protected hornbill in Assam’s Tinsukia district, highlighting continued pressure on the species.
Hornbills (family Bucerotidae) are birds found largely in the tropics of sub-Saharan Africa and south and south-east Asia. They are easily recognised by their long, curved bills topped with a casque. The birds nest in the natural hollows of high-canopy trees, where females seal themselves inside tree cavities during breeding. Hornbills are often known as ‘farmers of the forest’ due to their propensity to consume fruits and disperse seeds far and wide.
India is home to nine hornbill species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Species, some, such as the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) are listed as vulnerable. The Malabar pied hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) is near threatened with a declining population, while the Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) population remains relatively stable.
Most hornbill species in India are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, granting them the highest level of protection. However, hornbills still face growing threats from deforestation and habitat fragmentation.
In a report that Mongabay-India published in December 2019, K.H. Amitha Bachan, a researcher and consultant to Kerala Forest Department, said, “A healthy population of hornbills signifies a healthy ecosystem. So the hornbill conservation measures in the region [Kerala] are helping comprehensive protection of the environment of the Western Ghats stretch.”
Read more about ongoing efforts to understand hornbill ecology in the Western Ghats, India’s first hornbill-focussed conservation centre, and how a citizen science project is gathering data on hornbills.
Banner image: A great hornbill carries food to her nest. Image by Angadachappa via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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