Hornbill conservation by the PESCP

Enhancing breeding success of endangered hornbills

Beside surveillance of hornbill nests, work of the PESCP includes other projects to increase the population size of the threatened Philippine hornbill species which, as seed dispersers, are ecologically important for rainforest regeneration. Experience showed that, after logging of too many old rainforest trees, the remaining breeding pairs are competing for nest holes. Therefore, artificial hornbill nestboxes were developed and mounted. To slow rotting, the rather heavy nest boxes are made out of mahogany, a hardwood timber not native to the Philippines. By using wood of this locally grown alien tree species, regeneration of native hardwood tree species is indirectly supported.
One of the two hornbill species at stake has already nested several times in boxes thus hung up by PESCP.

PESCP collaborator Sherwin Hembra, a Philippine hornbill researcher, climbing a rainforest tree to mount an artificial nest box for critically endangered hornbills

Sherwin and his helper attaching one of PESCP´s artificial nest boxes
to a tree 22 m above ground.

Photos: Anke Siegert, PESCP

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Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project - Conservation Biology Unit, Ruhr-University Bochum

Last amendment: 12 July 2005