Caring bird: A hornbill feeding its female partner that is nestled
inside a jar left outside homes in Kampung Sungai Panjang
The
Star: sunday September 16, 2012
A new home for the hornbills
By
LIM CHIA YING
chiaying@thestar.com.my
chiaying@thestar.com.my
SABAK
BERNAM: Welcome to the land of the Hornbills and no, it's not in Sarawak.
Kampung Sungai Panjang here has been playing host to hornbills which have made
the village their roosting ground. The
birds migrated from the nearby Sungai Karang forest reserve to nest in clay
jars and urns placed outside the houses of the villagers. Residents say the
village now houses more than 20 hornbills. Farmer
Abdul Nasir Fairsol Abdul Rahman, 44, is hosting two different pairs of
southern pied hornbills and saw new additions to their families recently.
“The
hornbills first flew into the village three years ago, but were mostly elusive
and perched on trees. However, once they became familiar with the surroundings
and the village folk, they started flying onto the compounds of our houses,”
Abdul Nasir said.
Universiti
Putra Malaysia Science Faculty's biology department head Professor Ahmad
Ismail said the survival of hornbills depended on the forest reserve
ecology, adding that the birds' migration to the village could be the result of
past clearing of the forest for settlement and agricultural activities.
The
clearing work prompted the birds to look elsewhere for food. The
Sungai Karang forest forms part of the North Selangor Swamp Forest. “Sungai
Karang is vital as a source of water to irrigate the surroundings rice fields
and there is a need for greater protection of the forest and river system. “When
trees wither and die, the birds lose their primary food resources. And, they
migrate to places where food is more readily available. “This
is why the Sungai Karang Forest Reserve needs to be protected so that it can
hold up as a foraging and nesting area,” he said.
Prof
Ahmad still has no answer as to why the birds chose to breed inside the jars,
adding that artificial nests might be made for the hornbills in the forest. The southern pied
hornbill (anthracoceros albiorostris convexus) has a long
downward-curved bill. Its coat is primarily black except for the lower belly,
legs and tail area where feathers are in shades of white.
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