Hornbills thriving in Malayattur forests

K.S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, March 19, 2011

Hornbills are thriving in the Malayattur forests.

A recent bird survey held in the Malayattur forest division has revealed the presence of an “excellent population of Great Pied Hornbills.”

While the Malabar Grey Hornbill was spotted in good numbers, the Malabar Pied Hornbill was spotted from two base camps set up for the survey, said P.O. Nameer, State coordinator, Indian Bird Conservation Network and Important Bird Area Programme.

The Red List of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has included the Great Pied and Malabar Pied Hornbills in the Near-Threatened category.

Though the Great Pied Hornbill, says the BirdLife International, “has a large range, it occurs at low densities and is patchily distributed.

It is likely to be declining moderately rapidly throughout its range, and is therefore considered Near Threatened”.

Regarding the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the international agency for conservation of birds says that the species “has a moderately small population size, and is likely to have declined as a result of continuing habitat loss.

It is therefore considered Near Threatened, and should be carefully monitored for any future increases in the rate of decline”.

The hornbill species are mostly found at an elevation between 200 metres and 1400 metres in evergreen forests of the State. These birds are frugivorous (feeding on fruits).

The forest stretch in Kerala that begins from Parambikulam and runs through Nelliampathy, Vazhachal, Sholayar, Malayattur and Pooyamkutty houses excellent population of hornbills. This stretch also forms part of the Anamalai region of the southern Western Ghats.

Survey

The survey was conducted by the Cochin Natural History Society and the KeralaBirder in association with the Kerala Forest Department from February 11 to 14.

Vishnupriyan Kartha and J. Praveen led the survey in which 56 birdwatchers participated.

The survey succeeded in identifying 193 species from the division. This included nine of the 16 endemic bird varieties of the Western Ghats and six Near-Threatened ones.

Nilgiri flycatchers were located from Variyam whereas Lesser Fish-Eagles were spotted from Kappayam and Pooyamkutty. While Grey-headed Bulbuls were located at several camps, Black Baza, Spangled Drongo, Drongo Cuckoo, Philippine Shrike, Black Bittern, Speckled Piculet and Great Black Woodpecker were identified from two camps each.

Oriental Broad-billed Roller and Great-eared Nightjars were spotted from almost all the camps and Red-winged Crested Cuckoo and Blackcapped Kingfishers from Anakkulam. Sri Lankan Frogmouths were located at Idamalayar and Mountain Hawk-Eagle from Malakkappara, he said.

Dr. Nameer said harvesting of reeds from the forest range for commercial purposes was posing serious threat to the habitat.

The habitat destruction would have its impact on elephant and birds populations, he said.

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Athirappilly project threatens hornbills

Mini Muringatheri  

ATHIRAPPILLY (THRISSUR),  

The Hindu, February 19, 2011

If you trek deep into the Athirappilly-Vazhachal forests in the Southern Western Ghats, chances are that you may hear, from up in the canopy of trees, a heavy whooshing sound – somewhat similar to that of a jet airplane. If you are lucky, you will catch a glimpse of a magnificent bird, the Great Hornbill. But if the 163-MW Athirappilly hydroelectric project proposed by the Kerala State Electricity Board comes through, these unique birds might vanish from these forests.

The survival of the hornbills hangs in the balance as the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Committee, led by environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, is set to submit its report on the environmental impact of the Athirappilly project by the end of March. If the committee approves the project, it will lead to the submergence of the hornbills' habitat.

The unique low-elevation (180 m MSL) riparian forest in the Athirappilly-Vazhachal area is the only location where you can find all the four South Indian species of hornbills — the Great Hornbill (the State Bird of Kerala), Malabar Pied Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill, and the Indian Grey Hornbill. Their resonating ‘tock.tock.tock' calls and the whooshing sound of their wing flaps have earned them the local name ‘Malamuzhakki' (the one that creates an echo in the hillsides).

“The Athirappilly-Vazhachal forests are the only available nesting location for the threatened Malabar Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros coronatus) in Kerala. They are endemic to low elevation forests in limited locations of South India and Sri Lanka,” says K.H. Amitha Bachan, a researcher and consultant to Kerala Forest Department and the World Wildlife Fund-India Ecological Monitoring Programme. The other location where this species is found is the Dandeli area in Karnataka.

The prime threat to the species, apart from increased poaching, is lack of suitable nesting trees and feed. Mr. Bachan says that hornbills have an umbilical relationship with the rain forests. Forests undisturbed by humans are crucial for their survival. The natural hollows of high-canopy trees serve as their nests. They are extremely sensitive to disturbances. Though their long bills prevent binocular vision, their sharp eyes and good hearing alert them to the slightest movement on the forest floor. “During our surveys, we located as many as 57 nests in the Vazhachal Forest Division. We found three Great Hornbill nests in a two-kilometre stretch at a 200-metre altitude. This could be one of the last remaining low altitude riparian evergreen forests in the Western Ghats.”

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