CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has launched “Hornbill Conservation Initiative” to safeguarde the habitats of four threatened hornbill species in the Western Ghats.
The initiative, announced in the State Assembly on Friday by Minister for Forests K. Ponmudy, focuses on protecting the Great Hornbill, Malabar Grey-Hornbill, Malabar Pied-Hornbill, and Indian Grey-Hornbill—species that are crucial to the region’s ecosystem but face growing threats from habitat destruction.
A major element of the programme is the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Hornbill Conservation, which most probably will come up at Sethumadai or Top Slip in Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The forest department will also implement measures to protect the species’ nesting trees, even on private lands.
According to Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of the Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Department, “We will recognise owners of these private lands as ‘Hornbill Protectors.’ We will develop guidelines for safeguarding nest trees of all four hornbill species inside and outside protected areas and take up ecological restoration efforts to plant and protect key food and nesting trees like Dipterocarpus indicus, Cryptocarya anamalayana, and Myristica malabaricum, many of which are endangered.”
The initiative also includes a population survey, with a particular focus on the lesser-known Malabar Pied-Hornbill. The Anamalai Hills, home to significant hornbill populations, serve as critical roosting sites for these birds, especially during the breeding season.
The annual congregation of Great Hornbills at these sites is a visual spectacle, with the birds engaging in elaborate courtship rituals and aerial displays. However, increased tourist activity and amateur photography around these roosting sites have raised concerns about the potential disturbance to the birds.
Hornbills are secondary cavity nesters. They depend on tree cavities made by other birds for breeding. During the nesting season, the female hornbill seals herself inside the cavity with the help of her mate, who provides food through a small slit. The male hornbill is especially sensitive to human disturbance and may abandon the nest if disturbed.
Studies have shown that hornbills often use the same nest trees for decades. However, many of these nest trees are located within private tea and coffee estates, which complicates conservation efforts.
Divya Mudappa and TR Shankar Raman, senior scientists from NCF who co-authored the study titled Nest monitoring and nesting status of sympatric hornbills in the Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India with another research scholar Pooja Y Pawar, told TNIE, “We know of few trees, which are being used by hornbills for 25-27 years for nesting, indicating the importance of individual nest trees both inside protected areas and in private lands like surrounding tea and coffee estates. It is important to foster the growing of native fruiting (food) trees.”
Although there is no range-wide scientific hornbill population census done so far, the population density assessments done in the past by NCF in the Anamalais shows the Great Hornbill population was stable, while the numbers of Malabar Grey Hornbill are on the decline.
Shankar Raman told TNIE, "We don't know why Malabar Grey Hornbill numbers are declining. More research needs to be done. While one can attribute it to habitat loss and fragmentation, there would be other factors like climate and non-availability of fruit trees at play, considering the decline is noticed even in the Anamalai Hills, where there has been no such habitat loss or fragmentation for years. Because of the declining trend, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has put the Malabar Grey Hornbill in the Red List as 'Vulnerable', removing it from the category of Least Concern. The Malabar-Pied Hornbill, in particular, is very patchily distributed and so a thorough survey and assessment of hornbills in Tamil Nadu will help in establishing their population status and developing conservation strategies," he said.