Hornbill aficionados crowd Nelliyampathy

Context: Nelliyampathy, one of the popular tourist spots in the district, has begun to witness an influx of birdwatchers and wildlife photographers as the mating season of Kerala’s State bird Great Hornbill began.

• Social media have helped people get to know the presence of the majestic hornbills in large numbers.

Disturbing peace

• It’s never good for these birds which are extremely sensitive to human presence.
• Such crowding of people can harm the tranquillity that these giant birds seek out in a place such as Nelliyampathy.

Great Hornbill

• The great hornbill also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
• It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
• Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
• The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
• It is predominantly frugivorous, but is an opportunist and will prey on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
• Due to habitat loss and hunting in some areas, the great hornbill is evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• The great hornbill is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh in India.

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