About This Project

Helmeted hornbills are a conservation icon of the Asian tropical rainforest. These large birds are of major ecological and cultural significance, but increasingly threatened with extinction. They need healthy tropical forests to survive, but forests are disappearing and poaching for their ivory bills makes thing even more worse! Urgent action is needed, starting with a conservation and threat assessment.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Helmeted Hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil) are unique bird. Their hooting and loud laughing calls resonated in the rainforest, from Thailand in the north through the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. As large fruit eaters, they play important ecological roles by dispersing the seeds. As tree hollow breeders, they need large, old trees that have developed cavities that fit to their body. However, these trees are targeted for timber. Ironically, they are also hunted for the ivory of their bills, for carving and in Chinese medicine. The issue rarely features in conservation discussions and the governments are not taking action, because few facts are known. Urgently actions are required to understanding the scale of the problem by assessing their conservation and threat status.

What is the significance of this project?

Currently, 1.2 million hectares of Indonesia forest is disappearing each year, rapidly reducing the amount of hornbill habitat. Even more worryingly is the number of hornbills killed. My preliminary investigations revealed that in 2013 alone about 500 adult Helmeted Hornbills were killed each month, or some 6,000 in one year. These figures are supported by the 1,111 Helmeted Hornbill heads that were confiscated by the Indonesian authorities between 2012 and 2014. In the market, one head is worth for hundred dollars. For a slow-breeding species like the Helmeted Hornbill, which produces one young per year, these mortality rates cannot be sustained.

What are the goals of the project?

1. Assess the most important remaining Helmeted Hornbill populations
2. Assess mortality rates
3. Based on the above, provide recommendations about the global conservation status of the species
4. Raise awareness about the problems faced by Helmeted Hornbills
5. Work with the Indonesian government to develop immediate conservation interventions