![]() Located more than 80 nests of eight hornbill species (out of 10) in the forest landscape.Established the hornbills’ breeding/non-breeding periods in Belum-Temengor Forest Complex.The MNS Hornbill Conservation Project has achieved incremental milestones since its inception in 2004, despite constant challenges in maintaining a field-based conservation project: In East Malaysia, the situation is compounded with the threat of poaching/hunting, as hornbills are totally protected in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak under the respective wildlife laws, but permitted to be hunted under strict conditions in Sabah. Hornbills in Malaysia face similar, though less severe, perils, with habitat loss and degradation being the primary threats across the country. The helmeted hornbill, one of the most enigmatic species in this region, had its IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status upgraded in 2015 from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered, owing to intense poaching pressure in Indonesia for its casque. Nearly half of Asia’s hornbills are threatened with extinction, with declining populations owing to habitat loss and degradation, poaching and hunting. Other species, such as black, white-crowned, bushy-crested, great, rhinoceros and helmeted hornbills, are more selective and sensitive, requiring more intact, closed-canopy forests usually found in protected areas and forest reserves in Malaysia. The most common and adaptable species, the oriental pied hornbill, can be encountered not only in mangrove and lowland forests, but also in agricultural land and orchards. Hornbills in Malaysia are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from coastal mangroves to the hill/submontane forests. Peninsular Malaysia’s 10 marks the second highest diversity in the region, tied with Myanmar and the Philippines, and below only Thailand and Indonesia with 13 species each. There are 57 species of hornbills identified globally, with 25 found on the African continent and 32 distributed across 19 Asian countries. Plain-pouched hornbill ( Rhyticeros subruficollis)*.Wrinkled hornbill ( Rhyticeros corrugatus).Wreathed hornbill ( Rhyticeros undulatus).Bushy-crested hornbill ( Anorrhinus galeritus).White-crowned hornbill ( Berenicornis comatus).Black hornbill ( Anthracoceros malayanus). ![]() Oriental pied hornbill ( Anthracoceros albirostris).Rhinoceros hornbill ( Buceros rhinoceros).Much less that there are 10 species that call the peninsula home, two more than those found in Borneo: The rhinoceros hornbill also takes pride of place on the state’s coat of arms, while the bird is deeply embedded in the cultures of her indigenous peoples, especially the Dayak, whose ceremonial costumes and ornaments strongly feature feathers of both the rhinoceros and helmeted hornbill.Īnd when you say the words hornbills and Peninsular Malaysia, you might, half of the time, get a puzzled look, showing that many people are unaware of these continental hornbills. That’s the power of branding, with the East Malaysian state of Sarawak (its flag is red, yellow and black) recognised as Land of the Hornbills. MENTION HORNBILLS and most Malaysians would think of ceremonial feathers, red, yellow and black beads and the tag “Bumi Kenyalang”.
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