Visayan Hornbill(Penelopides panini)
The adults show sexual dimorphism. The male has a creamy-white head and neck, a white upper chest, a reddish brown lower chest and uppertail-coverts, and a creamy-white buff tail with a broad black tip. The bill and casque are blackish; the former with yellowish ridges. The bare ocular skin is pinkish-white. The tail and bill of the female resemble that of the male, but otherwise the plumage of the female is black, and the ocular skin is blue. Two subspecies are recognised:
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P. p. panini: Visayan tarictic hornbill, nominate, found on Panay, Negros, Masbate and Guimaras
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P. p. ticaensis: Ticao tarictic hornbill, found on Ticao Island (likely extinct)
Habitat
They are found in rainforests on the islands of Panay, Negros, Masbate, and Guimaras, and formerly Ticao, in the Philippines.
Diet
The principal food of the Visayan Hornbill is fruit. It also eats insects, beetles, ants and earthworms (rarely) and this make it an omnivore.
Breeding
Hornbills are known for their unique breeding habits. Males find a tree cavity and entice females by bringing her mudding material and food gifts. Females do the mudding using dirt and feces, which turns rock-hard when dried. Females then enter the cavity before mudding up the entrance until just a slim slit is left open. For over two months, males feed the trapped female and the chicks when they hatch, through the small vertical slit. Females break out about two weeks before the young in order to help feed them. When the young emerge, they are fully flighted, though their parents will continue to offer them food for another week.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Endangered(EN). The population is thought to number at least 1,800 individuals, roughly equivalent to 1,200 mature individuals. This estimate is now considerably out of date; if predicted rates of decline have precipitated the population may now fall below 1,000 individuals. This species has apparently been extirpated from a number of islands and its decline is suspected to have continued very rapidly. No new information has been provided concerning the population size or rate of decline, but given that a proportion of remaining habitat is protected and the species is presumably now very rare, declines in the future are unlikely to be as rapid as in the recent past.
Threats
Deforestation and hunting are the major threats. Tiny fragments of forest remain on Masbate, Guimaras, Ticao, Pan de Azucar and Sicogon. In 1988, it was estimated that just 4% forest cover remained on Negros (although this is thought to have been an underestimate) and 8% on Panay, and shifting kaingin cultivation continues. Hunting and trapping of adults and young is widespread and can account for 3-6 birds in a trip of 2-5 days on Negros. Individual birds may be sold for as little as US$1.
Conservation
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. It has been recently recorded in Mt Canlaon Natural Park (Negros) and the North Negros Forest Reserve. Coral Cay Conservation and Negros Forest & Ecological Foundation jointly created the Negros Rainforest Conservation Project focusing on this area. On Panay, the population is concentrated in the proposed Central Panay Mountains National Park. This site and Mt Talinis (Negros) have been the focus of the Mt Talinis-Twin Lakes Federation of Peoples Organization. Conservation and socio-economic programmes at Mts Talinis and Canlaon have tackled local hunting pressure, but it has not ceased entirely. Captive-breeding has proved successful, with 15 hornbills so far bred at Mari-it Wildlife Conservation Park on Panay Island and 12 bred in NFEFI-BCC on Negros Island. Rehabilitated hornbills continue to be released by PanayCon (formely PESCP) at CPMP, with the latest pair released in 2008 (both fitted with radio transmitters to study foraging movements). Since 2005, a total of 22 hornbills have been released and monitored by PhilinCon (formerly PhilConserve). Artificial nest boxes put up in CPMP have been equally successful. Poaching has been kept minimal within CMNP due to an effective community-based nest wardenining programme implemented by PhilinCon and CAPE.
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Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey remaining lowland forest tracts on Negros and Panay to identify further key sites with a view to establishing further protected areas. Gazette the proposed Central Panay Mountains National Park. Promote the effective protection of the North Negros Forest Reserve and designation of Canaway and Hapon-haponon areas as protected areas in Southern Negros. Support on-going efforts to reintroduce the species on Panay through captive breeding and rehabilitation and expand to Negros. Ascertain rates of forest loss since 1988 and calculate the area of forest remaining.