Fruiting Phenology and the Conservation of the Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) in the Western Ghats of Southern India

ABSTRACT

The phenology of principal fruits consumed by the endangered Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) was monitored for two years in a wet forest habitat in southern India. Lipid–rich fruits, produced by several interior forest trees mainly of the family Lauraceae, were highly seasonal in their availability, and their production in the dry, hot season coincided with the breeding of the hornbill. Sugary fruits, produced mainly by several species of Ficus, were available year–round due to aseasonal fruiting patterns. Because Ficus fruited even at times of low fruit resource availability, and was heavily utilized by hornbills and other frugivores, it played a keystone role in the maintenance of the avian frugivore community. Overall fruit production was scarce between July and January during the southwest and northeast monsoon seasons. Vitex altissima produced berries abundantly during much of this time (September–December) and thus was another important fruit resource for avian frugivores. To safeguard the fruit resource base for the Great Pied Hornbill, we recommend: (1) The protection of Ficus and Vitex trees from overexploitation, and (2) the conservation of forest integrity to maintain compositions and densities of the lipid–rich fruit tree species utilized by the hornbill.