Great Hornbill

🔹 About: 

1. The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.

2. It is predominantly fruit-eating, but is an opportunist and preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. 

3. It also affects donkeys and mules and can be naturally contracted by other mammals such as goats, dogs, and cats.

🔹 Features:

1. India is home to nine species of hornbills.

2. The northeastern region has the highest diversity of hornbill species within India.

3. Papum Reserve Forest is a nesting habitat of four species of hornbills: the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis), wreathed hornbill (Aceros undulatus), the Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) & the Rufous-necked hornbill (Aceros nipalensis)

4. The great hornbill is the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala.

🔹 Significance:

1. They are the cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh.

2. Referred to as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of forest’ for playing a key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees

3. The Hornbill festival celebrated in Nagaland.

🔹 Conservation Status:

1. IUCN Red List: Vulnerable (Great Hornbill)

2. Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule I. 

🔹 Threats:

1. They are hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for adorning headgear.

2. Poached for their meat and medicinal value of their body parts.

3. Destruction of its natural habitat.