Swift action needed to protect Great hornbills

Recently the Kerala assembly was told that the state bird, the magnificent Great Hornbill, was among 31 threatened bird species in the state.  Not that it created much flutter in government circles.  But now, international attention is being directed on India-lead Western Ghats and North –East –which is formed to 9 varieties of Hornbills.Speakers at the fifth international Hornbill conference held in Singapore from March 22 to 25th have called for deeper research on Hornbill and effective conservation measures in the Indian and African regions.  This has special significance for Kerala which is home to four Hornbill types; and the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear for two of them- the great Hornbill, aka the Great Indian Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and the Malabar pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus).The last mentioned is largely endemic to the Western Ghats and Srilanka.  The Great Hornbill known locally as  'Malamuzhakki Vezhambal' , is also the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh.  The conference attended by renowned experts such as Allen Kemp –emphasis the need for more studies in the Indian and African region.Amithabachan presented a paper at the Singapore convention on the conservation of Great Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill by involving the 'Kadar" tribe.
"We've had a conservation programme going at Vazhachal, Thrissur, since 2004 involving the Kadar tribe.  They are an important factor; as much as the protection of trees in which these birds nest is," he said.In 2004, when the Hornbill Conservation Programme started at vazhachal, only one Malabar Pied Hornbill nest were detected.  Now four Malabar Pied Hornbill nest 57 Great Hornbill ones are being monitored.  The conservation programme is to be extended to Nelliyampathy, Edamalayar and parambikkulam.  According to Forest Minister Binoy Viswam's written reply to a question in the State Assembly ('Last Flight?' Expresso- February 17), the Great Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill are listed as 'Near Threatened' (IUCN Red List).Monogamous by nature, the Great Hornbills – which are large birds as their name suggests prefer tall, huge trees to nest. And they nest at heights of up to 30 meters.  As for the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the riparian forests at Vazhachal are the only available nesting places now in Kerala. A plea has been made to upgrade the status of this bird from 'Near Threatened' to 'Endangered'

The New Indian Express, 30th March 2009