1Mahatma Gandhi Arts, Science and Late N. P. Commerce College, Armori, Dist. Gadchiroli (MS)

2&4Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati (MS) – 444 603, India.

3 Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Opp. Lion Gate, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai (MS)- 400001, India.

5Wildlife & Environment Conservation Society, Amravati (MS) – 444 602, India.

Corresponding author email: nikhilborode94@gmail.com

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ABSTRACT:

Hornbills are large sized fruit eating birds important in forest ecosystems as they help in natural forest regeneration through seed dispersal. Thus they also help in forest ecosystem resilience. In the vast and iconic forests of Central India, Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus is perhaps the largest frugivore bird species and therefore plays a vital role in maintaining broadleaved forest ecosystems in the region. To better understand this role played by MPH, we studied its diet at Pench Tiger Reserve, MadhyaPradesh during the non-breeding and breeding seasons during a span of two years, i.e., January 2021 to December 202It was found that MPH consumed fruits belonging to 22 plant species  during the non-breeding season (August to February); and fruits belonging to 32 plant species were consumed during the breeding season (March to July). Overall, fruits belonging to 11 fig species and 26 non-fig plant species were taken in both seasons. Fruits belonging to the Moraceae family were the most preferred among all plant species in the hornbill diet. Eleven plant species belonged to Moraceae, two each to Euphorbiaceae and Anacardiaceae, and the rest to other families like the Annonaceae, Ebenaceae, Boraginaceae, etc. The diet also included animal matter including insects, crabs, scorpions, mollusks, frogs, geckos, lizards, birds, eggs, chicks, squirrels, bats and rats.

These were supplied by male hornbills to nest inmates during breeding the season. Of the 11 fig species, Ficus benghalensis was the most preferred, followed by Ficus religiosa; and among non-fig plants, Putranjiva roxburghii was most consumed by A. coronatus, possibly because of its fruiting during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. On average, male paid 10 visits to the nest per day. In the post-hatching period, the frequency of the supply of animal matter was found to increase with the maximum supply of insects and their larvae in the months of June and July.

KEYWORDS:

Malabar Pied Hornbill, Anthracoceros Coronatus, Diet Composition, Food
Preference, Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, Central India.

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Borode N, Wagh G, Kasambe R, Chaudhary P, More K.Diet composition and food preference of Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Biosc.Biotech.Res.Comm. 2024;17(2).

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Borode N, Wagh G, Kasambe R, Chaudhary P, More K.Diet composition and food preference of Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Biosc.Biotech.Res.Comm. 2023;17(2). Available from: <a href=”https://shorturl.at/u5Jmg“>https://shorturl.at/u5Jmg</a>

INTRODUCTION

Hornbills are among the conspicuous arboreal birds in the old-world tropical forest. Generally, they are frugivorous but can adapt themselves to an omnivorous diet in the breeding season (Poonswad etal., 1986; Kemp, 1993). India has nine species of Hornbills but only two species, Indian Grey Hornbill and Malabar Pied-Hornbill regularly occur in Central India. Both may play important roles in maintaining forests in the region, but Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus (MPH) may be especially important as seed dispersers given their larger size . According to the IUCN Red List (2022), MPH is listed as “Near Threatened” (Criterion NT C1) due to decreasing trends in its population because of poaching, deforestation, habitat loss and fragmentation. A. coronatus prefers deciduous forest and thick canopies with distinct distributional ranges, i.e., Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and some pockets of Satpuda mountain range in Central India. The species is frugivorous (Ali and Ripley 1987, Reddy et al. 1990), occurring in mixed deciduous and riparian forests (Reddy et al. 1990) and moist deciduous (Ali and Ripley 1987) forests. During the non-breeding period (May to February), 60% of the diet consisted of figs alone (P. Balasubramanianet.al. 2004).

There are some anecdotal observations about the sympatric Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris, like by Kasambe and Pimplapure (2007), Kasambe (2012), Patil, et. al (1997), and Neelakantam (1953). Newham (1911) had reported Indian Grey Hornbills Ocyceros birostris feeding on young parakeets. However, Santhoshkumar and Balasubramanian (2015) as well as Kasambe, et. al (2017) did comprehensive research on the diet of Indian Grey Hornbill O. birostris in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and in Eastern Ghats (Tamil Nadu)

Fig species were the most important component of the diet. Hornbills preferred red and purple fruits over the other colors, and they preferred large, heavy fruits over smaller fruits (Suer Suryadi et. al 1994). This study relates the fruit utilization of hornbill species to the abundance and availability of food resources.

Study Area: Pench Tiger Reserve is situated in the districts of Seoni and Chindwara of Madhya Pradesh close to the border of Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra state. This Tiger Reserve covers an area 757.920 sq. Km. and lies between 210 38’ to 210  50’ 30” N and 790  9’ to 790  22’ 03” E. The forest types found in the area are classified as the Sub-tropical Hill Forest, the Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest, and the Lush Green Deciduous Forest (Champian and Seth, 1968). The Central Indian Highlands have a tropical monsoonal climate, with a distinct monsoon (July to September), winter (November to February) and summer (April to June). The mean annual rainfall is around 1400 mm, with the south-west monsoon accounting for most of the rainfall in the region. The Reserve lies in the southern lower reaches of the Satpura Range of hills on the southern border of Madhya Pradesh. The general topography of Pench Tiger Reserve is mostly undulating, characterized by small ridges and hills having steep slopes, with a number of seasonal streams and nullahs carving the terrain into many folds and furrows, a result of the folding and upheavals of the past.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted from January 2021 to December 2022. Standardized survey were conducted in the morning (0600-0900 h) and evening (0400-0600 h) when hornbills are most easily detected. To understand the diet composition and food preferences in the non-breeding season, the visual scanning method was used. For the breeding season, a camera trap was mounted near the nest cavity, besides collecting the midden (which includes excreta, regurgitated seeds and other dropped food items) from below the three active nest cavities. Observations about the fruiting phenology were taken. Three active nests were monitored for collecting information on feeding by male hornbills and the feeding observations were recorded by Cuddeback Camera Trap installed at the nests. The excreta, regurgitated seeds and other dropped food items were collected in collection plastic bags twice a week from under the nests. The seeds collected from the midden were dried and stored in perforated plastic containers. Fruit size and weight was recorded using a caliper and a weighing balance. Data Analysis was done by using Excel and PAST software.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Diet composition of Malabar Pied Hornbill: This study focused on the fruit and animal matter consumed by A. coronatus in the non-breeding (August-February) and breeding (March to July) season. The study revealed that A. coronatus feeds on both fruit and animal matter but the quantity of animal matter eaten was found to be more during the post breeding period which was said to be taken as a protein supplement for growth the young ones.

Fruit diets: We found that MPH fed on fruits of 38 plant species. They were found to eat fruits of more plant species during the breeding season (32 species) than the non-breeding season (22 species). The 38 plant species are from 21 families, and Moraceae was the most preferred family among all plant species in A.coronatus diet (Table 1, Graph 1, Graph 2). Data was also analyzed for fruits types, like drupes, achenes, pods etc. It was found that in the non-breeding season among all plant species in the diet, achenes were 45%, drupes 36%, pods 9% capsules and aggregate fruits were 5%. Whereas in the breeding season the diet composed of drupes 36%, achenes 32%, barriers 16%, capsule 7%, aggregate fruit, follicle and pods were 3% each. It means that in non-breeding season achenes (45%) forms major chunk of its diet while in breeding season drupes (36%) were dominant in the diet.

Balasubramanian, et. al (2004) studied the food habits of Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus in the Western Ghats, India. They found that figs formed the top three preferred food species throughout the year; 60% of the diet was figs during the non-breeding period (May to February), whereas during the breeding period (March and April), 98% per cent of food deliveries to nest inmates were fruits belonging to six species. These included a high share of figs (75.6%). Santhoshkumar and Balasubramanian (2015) reported that food items delivered at the nest included both plant (63.7%) and animal matter (36.3%). In the diet they found 83% fruits and the rest were leaves (8.8%), insects (7.7%), and flowers (0.5%). Of the 38 fruit species being taken, Ficus spp. constituted 25.3% of the non-breeding season fruit diet. Kasambe et. al (2017) found that that for the Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris, the keystone diet species of food were figs of Sacred Fig Ficus religiosa (53.84%) and Banyan F. benghalensis (22.82%). Thus, in the diet of the Ocyceros birostris 76.66% constituted of figs of these two species during the breeding season.

Kanitha Ouithavon (1999) said that fruit food in the families Lauraceae, Annonaceae, Myristicaceae and Meliaceae were consumed by the sympatric hornbills in high quantity. These families comprised 95 % of these fruit diet of the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensisand about 41 % of the fruit diet of the Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis. They hypothesized that these fruit families have a high nutrient value, especially lipid content, that was necessary for hornbills. Snow (1981) stated that most of the tropical fruits eaten by birds were lipid-rich, but temperate fruits eaten by birds had a high water content and were carbohydrate-rich. White (1974) states that some species of tropical fruits such as figs have high carbohydrate and available energy, but low lipid content.

Figs collected in the study area had a lot of agaonid wasps inside them. Abrahamson (1989) explains that figs themselves have low protein, but presence of agaonid wasps through their long co-evolution means that figs are in fact a rich source of protein and calcium. This was in accordance with Poonswadet.al, (1998) who found that the Great Hornbill consumed figs more than any other fruit except for A. indica, all the above-mentioned tree species form part of riparian vegetation. Fruit species consumed in large quantities- Ficus belgalansis, and Putranjiva roxburghii were abundant. Putranjivi roxnburgii plant species was found abundantly along the side of Pench River as well as on the islands in the river during food preference plant species survey in the study area (Graph 5).

The range of fruit weight and size consumed by A.coronatus was 0.13-23.2gm and 5-37.8 cm in diameter respectively (Table 2). Data was also analyzed as per the fruiting phenology of the plants, and we found that most of the plant fruit ripening season was in Mach to June, coinciding with the breeding season of A.coronatus.

Animal Diet: As Kemp (1995) and Poonswad (1998), mentioned the hornbills of the genus Aceros are known to drop down on the forest floor along the stream sides is not just for quenching its thirst but apparently to catch crabs, small fish and others. As per concern with the animal matter total 26 kinds of animal matter belongs to 8 groups were delivered by A. coronatus in breeding period. Among these 8 animal groups, Arthropods include beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, moths, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, crabs); molluscs(snails), amphibians (frogs), reptiles (lizards, geckos, skinks, Varanus), birds (Black Drongo, Jungle Owlet, parakeet, Green Pigeon, White-breasted Waterhen, Jungle Babbler and bird chicks), white and blue coloured bird eggs, and mammals (squirrels, bats, rats), (Table 3, Graph 6).Rinchen Wangchuk et. al. (2017) said that Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis feeds on both vertebrate and invertebrate animal species that includes 13 animal species such as crabs, bird chicks, beetles, caterpillars and even small mammals like squirrels, rats, as recorded at the nesting sites, information gathered through the questionnaire survey with the local people and feeding observation data and regurgitated seed collected samples. Fruit species were eaten throughout the year while animal matter was eaten usually after the hatching period to supplement the dietary requirement of the chicks for growth and the mother for the rejuvenation of her health.

Out of 8 animal groups 34% was covered by arthropods, 4% molluscs, 4% amphibians, 17% reptiles, 27 % birds, 4% bird eggs, 11% mammals and 4% unidentified animal matter. Pawar et al. (2018), reported thirteen kinds of animal matter that included eggs, invertebrates such as moths, stick insects and mantis, and vertebrates such as frogs, skinks, snakes, rodents, and small birds in the diet of Buceros bicornis. In total, for all the nests, 128 animals were delivered during519 hours of observations. The Rhinoceros and Great Hornbills in this study had been seen consuming giant millipedes, a food item that has been reportedly used as sealing material (Kemp 1995).The Great Hornbills prefer an insect diet once the chick has hatched(Golding and Williams 1986). The absence of a chick may account for the lack of protein-rich food such as animal matter, being delivered by the male to the nest site. The female Great Hornbill in this study spent between 56 – 87 days in the nest cavity before abandoning the nest, exceeding the average 40-day incubation period of the Great Hornbill (Poonswad and Kemp 1993). Due to the absence of protein foods in its food deliveries, the assumption was that no eggs had hatched.

CONCLUSION

The present study concluded that among 38 plant species, the 11 were fig species and Ficus benghalensis was the most preferred, followed by Ficus religiosa, and among non-fig plants, Putranjiva roxburghii was most consumed by A. coronatus, possibly because of its fruiting during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Non-fig species are more numerous than fig species. Even though it has been determined that the Moraceae family was preferred over other families, we hypothesized that Moraceae members have higher nutritional value than other fruiting species. On average, male paid 10 visits to the nest per day. First visit was paid at at 05:30 am and last visit was at 6:30 pm. In the pre-hatching and hatching periods, delivery of lizards, geckos, and squirrels was more prominently observed, white and blue coloured egg was delivered by the male. More blue eggs were delivered by the male than white eggs and these blue eggs were identified as those of babblers. Apart from that, in the post-hatching period, the frequency of the supply of animal matter was found to increase with the maximum supply of insects and their larvae in the months of June and July (Monsoon).Finally study concluded that all the animal food consumed by the A.coronatus is totally dependent upon the availability of animals in the month of breeding season and the efforts made by the male to capture the small animal.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Sincere appreciation must be extended to the Forest Department, Madhya Pradesh for granting permission for our research in Pench Tiger Reserve. We are also grateful to Madhya Pradesh Biodiversity Board, Madhya Pradesh for their financial assistance to this work. We would like to thank all the field members Mr. Mithlesh Shirsam, Mr. Sumit Ambulkar, Mr. Pratik Chaudhari and special thanks to Mr. Shubham Wagh for his efforts toward study area map designing. We also very thanks full to Principal Dr. G. V. Korpe for their continuous support and encouragement.

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