Thread to hornbill

• A study based on satellite data has flagged a high rate of deforestation in a major
• hornbill habitat in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Using fine­-scale satellite imagery, a trio of ecologists assessed the changes in forest cover of the 1,064 sq.km. Papum Reserve Forest (RF) adjoining the Pakke Tiger Reserve as well as a part of Assam affected by illegal felling and ethnic conflict.
• Papum RF is a nesting habitat of three species of the large, colorful fruit­eating hornbills: Great, Wreathed, and Oriental Pied. The 862 sq.km. Pakke reserve houses a fourth species, the Rufous­Necked.
• The satellite data pointed to alarming deforestation rates in Papum RF with annual loss rates as high as 8.2 sq.km. as per estimates from 2013-­2017 where forest cover declined to 76% of the total RF area
• Results show the loss and degradation of critical hornbill habitat in the biologically rich forests of the Indian Eastern Himalaya
• The ecologists assessed the habitat loss due to illegal logging within a 1 km radius around 29 hornbill nest trees. From 2011 to 2019, the forest cover was found to have declined from 38.55
• sq.km. to 21.94 sq.km. around these trees.
• Hornbills used to be hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for headgear despite being cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh. But a 20­ year­old conservation program entailing the use of fibre­glass beaks reduced the threat to the birds to a large extent.
• Illegal logging, however, has however led to fewer tall trees where the bird's nest. While the protected areas such as Pakke are better guarded, the forests are often under pressure due to agricultural expansion, conversion to plantations, or logging. According to the Global Forest Watch 2020 report, the State lost 1,110 sq.km. of the primary forest from 2002­ 2019. 

Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)

• Near threatened– IUCN Red List
• State bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh
• Local names —  homrai(Nepal), banrao, Vezhaambal
• Long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity
• Found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
• Predominantly frugivorous, but is an opportunist and will prey on small mammals, reptiles, and birds.
• Appendix Iof CITES

Cultural significance

• Its impressive size and color have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
• Beaks and head are used in charms
• The flesh is believed to be medicinal
• Young birds are considered a delicacy
• Tribesmen in parts of northeastern India and Borneo use the feathers for head-dresses, and the skulls are often worn as decorations
• Zomi, a festival without a hornbill feather is incomplete

Threats

• Logging
• Forest clearance for agriculture
• susceptible to hunting pressure
• The casque and tail feathers are targeted in many locations across the range; both are used as adornments by local communities

Source: The Hindu