Sulu Hornbill Anthracoceros montani

Sulu Hornbill Anthracoceros montani

Critically Endangered

Extant (resident)

Philippines

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The Sulu Hornbill is one of the rarest birds in the world. They are large and almost entirely black except for a white tail, with a thick black bill, a black casque, and black skin around the eye. Males have pale eyes, females have brown eyes and a smaller casque. These striking birds are native to the Sulu Islands, possibly now only found on Tawi-Tawi due to hunting and palm oil deforestation throughout their range. In 2018 there was only a few dozen left. Help their survival and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

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The Sulu hornbill — “tawsi” in the local language — is endemic to the Philippines, occurring only on islands in the Sulu Archipelago between Mindanao and Borneo. It is the sole member of the Bucerotidae family within its area and was described as widespread and abundant at the time of its discovery in 1880. Since then, the population has crashed.

Today, the only viable breeding population of the Sulu hornbill known to exist is found on the small island of Tawi-Tawi, where a mere 100 square kilometers (close to 25,000 acres) of suitable forest remains, according to the IUCN. The total global population is estimated to be about 40 individuals.

Mongabay

Threats

In 2019 it was reported that only 27 mature individual hornbills are still believed to be alive in the wild making it one of the most endangered animals in the world.^[5]

Wikipedia

• Large-scale deforestation: of their habitats on Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Sanga-Sanga.
• Deforestation for palm oil
• Deforestation for rubber
• Mining activities in the areas where they live.
• Human persecution: for target practice, especially due to high gun ownership in the past.
• Hunting: the harvesting of young hornbills for food.
• Pet trade: the collection of the species for trade.]

Habitat

Sulu Hornbill live in primary dipterocarp forests, often on mountain slopes, possibly due to forest loss elsewhere. Occasionally, they travel over a kilometer to visit isolated fruiting trees. They need large trees for nesting. Their diet mainly consists of fruit, but they sometimes eat small lizards and insects.

Diet

Their diet mainly includes fruit, occasionally they may also eat small lizards and insects.

Support Sulu Hornbills by going vegan and boycotting palm oil in the supermarket, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Support the conservation of this species

This animal has no protections in place. Read about other forgotten species here. Create art to support this forgotten animal or raise awareness about them by sharing this post and using the #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags on social media. Also you can boycott palm oil in the supermarket.

Further Information

BirdLife International. 2020. Anthracoceros montani. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T22682447A178062684. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22682447A178062684.en. Accessed on 23 February 2023.

 Sulu hornbill Wikipedia article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulu_hornbill

Sulu hornbill on Animalia.bio – https://animalia.bio/sulu-hornbill

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