Guangming Daily reporter Ren Weidong Guangming Network reporter Cai Lin
In the mysterious rainforest, there is a strange and rare large bird. They have wingspans of more than a meter, their feathers are shiny, and they whistle high in the air, and the sound of "uh-uh- They have a bronze helmet-shaped protrusion shaped like a rhino horn on their heads, hence the name hornbills.
Hornbills used to be active among the dense woods and can often be seen in some areas of southern China. Gradually, however, people will have to see them more often through photos taken by ecological photographers. What does a hornbill look like? What are the special habits of life? What are the challenges of protection? On the occasion of the first phase of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the reporter interviewed Professor Luo Xu of the School of Biodiversity Conservation of Southwest Forestry University.
Yunnan national characteristic performance at the opening ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fei Maohua
Reporter: What are the characteristics of the hornbill in appearance? How is it distributed in our country?
Luo Xu: Hornbills are large and medium-sized climbing birds, like to eat banyan fruit, male and female are basically the same color, only slight morphological differences, the appearance is mainly black, white, brown. The biggest feature of the hornbill is that it has a huge beak, that is, it has a large beak, and some species of beaks have hollow helmet protrusions on the top, which will form a sound resonance cavity, so the sound is rough and low.
There are only five species of hornbills distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi and Tibet in China, namely the crowned hornbill, the double-horned hornbill, the crested hornbill with a corolla, the white-throated hornbill and the brown-necked hornbill. Their distribution range is extremely narrow. Taking Yunnan as an example, it only inhabits the local forests of Xishuangbanna Prefecture and Dehong Prefecture, among which there are 3 species of hornbills distributed near the Hongbeng River in Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture, and the population is relatively stable.
Reporter: What are the special habits of hornbills?
Luo Xu: Hornbills are tropical and subtropical forest birds that need to inhabit and reproduce in forests of better quality. Hornbills breed in a special way, nesting on tall trees. After laying eggs during the breeding season, the female hornbills no longer come out of the nest, and the males will use mud to paste the nest hole, leaving only a small opening to prevent snakes, lizards and other small animals from interfering with the female's reproduction. The female completes the whole process of hatching alone in the cave, during which the male does not rest, but tirelessly forages around day after day and feeds food to the female from the mouth of the cave. Once the chicks are out of their shells, the female leaves the nest and reseals the opening of the hole until the young grow.
Reporter: What are the challenges facing the protection of hornbills?
Luo Xu: First of all, hornbills are distributed in remote border areas in southwest China, which is difficult to protect and manage. Secondly, the hornbill helmet is a good carving material, and the crafts made are beautiful and expensive, so they are hyped by many people, resulting in illegal trade being banned repeatedly. Finally, the study of hornbills is inadequate. In 2021, the newly adjusted List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection lists all five species of hornbills as national first-level protected wild animals, which shows that the protection of hornbills is particularly urgent. However, the basic research on the biology and ecology of hornbills in China is still insufficient, and the improvement of the level of protection will help the scientific community pay more attention to this taxon, and also help the local wildlife management department to take stricter protection measures.
Reporter: What are the lessons to be learned in the protection of hornbills?
Luo Xu: The "Stone Ladder Experience" born in Shiti Village, Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, is a typical case of transforming ecological beauty into economic benefits. The hornbills of Shiti Village are non-seasonal resident birds and have been living in the forest near the village for many years, indicating that the local ecosystem is well preserved. Male birds in the breeding period will constantly return to the nest to feed food, which is easy to be found by humans, but the number of hornbills around Shiti Village has not decreased over the years, which shows that the local people have a high awareness of protecting hornbills.
In addition, the local area is also based on rich bird resources to develop bird watching tourism, many villagers have become "bird protectors" and become "bird guides". On the one hand, such an approach can more effectively protect hornbills, on the other hand, it can also transform "green water and green mountains" into "golden mountains and silver mountains", contributing to the local people's poverty alleviation and prosperity, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone. It can be seen that while protecting hornbills, local people also protect the animal and plant species distributed in the same region as hornbills in the tropical rainforest, that is, protect biodiversity.
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(Guangming Daily Kunming, October 11)
Guangming Daily (October 12, 2021 09 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily