An Indian rainforest from a Great Hornbill's point of view
Explore the rainforest of Arunachal Pradesh with Paga, a Great Hornbill
Great Hornbill on branch by Tamaghna Sengupta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Hello, I am Paga, the Great Hornbill. I live in Pakke, Arunachal Pradesh, together with my cousins, the Oriental Pied Hornbill, the Rufous-necked Hornbill, and the Wreathed Hornbill.
I'm stunning to look at, of course, but my cousins aren't so bad either!
Oriental Pied Hornbill male by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Oriental Pied Hornbill is the smallest of the four hornbills found in Pakke. It has black and white plumage and makes very distinct loud cackling calls.
Scientific name: Anthracoceros albirostris
Wreathed Hornbill male by Kalyan Varma for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Wreathed Hornbill is large and black, with a white tail. It makes aloud whooshing sound while flying. The throat patch is yellow in males and blue in females.
Scientific name: Rhyticeros undulatus
Wreathed Hornbill pair by Adarsh Raju for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Here is a Wreathed Hornbill pair. Can you tell which is female and which is male?
If you can't remember how to tell them apart, go to the previous slide and then come back!
Rufous-necked Hornbill by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Rufous-necked Hornbill occurs only in the higher regions of Pakke. The females are all black while the males have a rufous head and neck.
Scientific name: Aceros nipalensis
Rufous-necked Hornbill male by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Look at this lovely male Rufous-necked Hornbill
I like to soar over the tropical rainforests of Pakke and eat the fruits that the rainforest has to offer. Let me show you some of my favourite fruits. Follow me as I tell you more about the rainforest.
Dysoxylum gotadhora fruit by Sitaram Mahato for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
This four-seeded fruit that becomes red and bursts open when ripe. Its local Assamese name is Banderdima.
Scientific name: Dysoxylum gotadhora
Dysoxylum gotadhora fruit and seed by Navendu Page for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
How lovely are the Banderdima fruit and seeds!
horsfieldia kingii tree and habitat by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
The Ramtamul tree can be very tall. It grows 10-12m in height.
Scientific name: Horsfieldia kingii.
Horsfieldia kingii fruit and seed by Kalyan Varma for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Ramtamul fruits have single seed covered with bright orange fleshy tissue that I love to eat!
Polyalthia simiarum by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
The Kari tree has single-seeded fruits that are bright orange or red when unripe and bluish black when ripe.
Scientific name: Polyalthia simiarum
Polyalthia simarium unripe fruits by Saniya Chaplod for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Feast your eyes on these beautiful Kari fruits.
I share a deep connection with the forest I live in. We are both dependent on each other. People call me and my cousins 'Farmers of the Forest' because we help in growing the forest by dispersing seeds of the fruits that we eat.
Oriental Pied Hornbill carrying fruit in its beak by Samyak Kaninde for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Our large beaks allow us to eat large fruits as well as other smaller fruits available in the forest.
Unlike many smaller birds, we regurgitate the seeds of the fruits we eat, dispersing them far away from their parent tree. For this reason, my cousins and I are crucial for the dispersal of large-seeded trees.
In the evenings I like to move to a safe place with my family and friends and we all roost together, sometimes in large numbers. Some of us move to nearby villages. Let me tell you about some of the trees that I prefer for roosting at night.
Bombax ceiba by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
One favourite roosting tree is the Semal, commonly called the Red Silk Cotton tree. It can grows upto 25m in height. Semal is famous for the wildlife it attracts to its flowers.
Scientific name: Bombax ceiba
Bombax ceiba flower by Bibidishanand Basu for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
This is what the beautiful Semal flowers look like.
Wreathed Hornbills roosting on Albizzia procera in Pakke Tiger Reserve by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Another tree that I like to roost in is the Koroi, which grows quite fast, reaching upto 30m in height. It is one of the most preferred roosting trees for Great and Wreathed Hornbills in Pakke.
Scientific name: Albizzia procera
Wreathed hornbills at roost by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Wreathed Hornbills sometimes roost in large numbers on Koroi trees in the evening.
When hornbills roost, we regurgitate seeds that then fall to the base of the roosting tree. We also interact a lot with each other before we fall asleep.
Our breeding season starts in January-February
We usually like to spend our entire lives with the same partner. I already have a partner, whom I adore. I bring in treats for my partner and we look for a suitable nesting tree together. Owing to our large body size and also because my partner will live in the cavity for about three months, we are very particular about the tree and cavity we select as our nest.
Tetrameles nudiflora by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Unfortunately, we cannot form our own cavity so we are dependent on already existing cavities on large trees. Let me show you some of the large, emergent trees that have suitable nest sites for us.
Bhelu trees can grow upto 45m in height. Their buttress can be as wide as 10m. They often form large hollows in the trunk or branches providing nesting space to hornbills and other animals.
Scientific name: Tetrameles nudiflora
Do you see a Great hornbill nest on a Bhelu tree?
That is one of my friends next to the nest.
Great Hornbill nest on an Ailanthus grandis tree by Karishma Pradhan for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
The Borpat tree is another favourite. Here is my friend, another Great Hornbill's nest in a naturally formed cavity.
Scientific name: Ailanthus grandis
Do you see her? That is my partner.
Around February-March, after a lot of coaxing, my partner enters the nest cavity.
Great Hornbill nest sealed by female by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Over the next few days she starts sealing the nest.
Here is a close-up of my nest.
A view of the completely sealed nest
Male Great hornbill feeding female and chick at nest by Karishma Pradhan for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
My partner is inside the cavity
While she is inside, I am on double duty! I bring in food for my partner, as well as my chick, every 2-3 hours.
My usual diet is fruits. But at breeding time I also catch crabs, insects, lizards and other animals as protein supplements. Everything that me, my partner and chick can eat, is fair game!
Seed germination and seedlings below hornbill nest tree by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Can you spot the variety of seeds and saplings below our nest tree?
Female Great hornbill exiting the nest by Dollar Ganguly for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Soon my partner will be ready to leave the nest.
My partner exits the nest after about three months, and my chick seals the cavity. Both parents then provide food and guard our chick for another month until it is ready to leave the nest.
Great hornbill chick by Saniya Chaplod for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Once my partner and chick are out of the nest we roam the forest together, soaring above the treetops in search of a nice fruiting tree.
We also share a deep connection with the local people of Pakke: the Nyishi. The Nyishi are one of the many tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. They call me ‘Paga’ in Nyishi, hence my name. You can see Nyishi people wearing my beak on their headgear called ‘Pudum’, as a part of their culture and tradition. We also feature in their folk stories and songs.
Nyishi headgear 'Pudum' by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Can you see the hornbill beak on this traditional Nyishi headgear?
My forest, which was once huge and undisturbed, is now dwindling. There are now fewer Bhelu trees and other large trees that we need for roosting and nesting. They are rapidly being taken away for timber. Sometimes I have to compete with my own cousins, the Wreathed Hornbills for nesting sites!
Hunted Rufous-necked Hornbill by Rohit Naniwadekar for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
We are also often hunted for our beak and meat.
Wreathed hornbill heads by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Here are some hunted Wreathed Hornbill heads on display
Hornbill Nest Adoption Program logo by Hornbill Nest Adoption Program for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
But things seem to be changing in some of the areas where I live. Many Nyishi people love us and want to help us survive.
There are various conservation initiatives across India to save us and our cousins. One such program in Pakke is the Hornbill Nest Adoption Program.
Our local guardians the 'nest protectors’ are trying hard to protect us with support from urban donors. They watch over our nests, protecting us and our trees. The forest is also being restored with many fruiting trees that we feed on. We hope in the years ahead we will have lots of habitat and food to sustain our children, and their children to come.
Nest Protector Gingma watching his Great Hornbill nest by Aparajita Datta for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Here is a nest protector watching his Great Hornbill nest during the breeding season.
The Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department (Pakke Tiger Reserve) along with the Wildlife Trust of India has replaced the ‘Pudums’ that had our beaks with artificial beaks.
Tradtional Nyshi head gear with fibre glass hornbill beak by Karishma Pradhan for Nature Conservation FoundationNature Conservation Foundation
Here is a traditional Nyishi headgear, but with a fibreglass hornbill beak.
Measures such as these are helping more of us to survive and for our population to thrive.
FURTHER READS:
You can become a Hornbill Parent. Learn more about the Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.
CREDITS:
Story: Saniya Chaplod and Aparajita Datta, Eastern Himalayas Programme, NCF
Images: Adarsh Raju, Aparajita Datta, Bibidishanand Basu, Dollar Ganguly, Kalyan Varma, Karishma Pradhan, Khem Thapa, Navendu Page, Rohit Naniwadekar, Samyak Kaninde, Saniya Chaplod, Sitaram Mahato, Tali Nabam.
Artwork: Sartaj Ghuman
Videos: Adarsh Raju, Karishma Pradhan, Rohit Naniwadekar, Saniya Chaplod
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