• With the breeding season of the Great Indian Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) almost at an end this year, the need to preserve what’s left of its habitat in the Nilgiris has never been greater.
• the bird’s prime nesting grounds are located in the evergreen forests that come under the jurisdiction of the Nilgiris North-Eastern Range in the Nilgiris, where many pairs of the bird, which usually mate for life, were spotted this year during the breeding season, which extends from January till around April every year.
• The species, which has been listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is believed to number less than a few hundred in Tamil Nadu, with a significant proportion of them being found in the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.
• The nesting grounds of the birds in the Nilgiris North Eastern Range are also believed to support some of the highest densities of the species in Southern India.
• The Great Hornbill prefers mid-elevation, evergreen forests, and these habitats have become fragmented over the last few decades.

Source: The Hindu