Sulu Hornbill (Anthracoceros montani) Conservation Program

Sulu Hornbill (Anthracoceros montani), is a blackish hornbill with wholly white tail. Black bill and casque, bare blackish skin around eye and small patches near bill-base. Glossy dark greenish upperparts. Iris cream-coloured in male and dark brown in female. Pale tip to casque-less bill in juvenile, and sometimes whitish-tipped primaries. 

This species is endemic to three islands in the Sulu archipelago in the Philippines. This hornbill faces the possibility of imminent extinction. It has a tiny population probably now confined to just one island. It is likely to be declining very rapidly owing to the continuing loss and degradation of the few remaining forest tracts in its range, and levels of exploitation. For these reasons, it is listed as Critically Endangered.

Conservation Actions Underway

CITES Appendix II. Military activity and insurgency continue to present a serious obstacle to conservation work in the Sulus. There are no formal protected areas in the archipelago. A proposal exists to provide conservation funding for the Tawi-tawi/Sulu Coastal Area, although neither the outcome nor the likely benefits to the species is known. A draft a municipal resolution for the banning of hunting or capture of Tawi-tawi endemics has been developed and was planned to be passed in July 2010 (I. Sarenas in litt.2010). 

Conservation Actions Proposed

Conduct surveys in all remaining forest patches in the Sulus to identify key sites. Urgently establish formal protected areas in the centre-west of Tawi-tawi to conserve populations in the main mountain range. Clarify the proposal for conservation funding for the Tawi-tawi/Sulu Coastal Area. Continue and expand environmental awareness programmes and establish captive-breeding populations for future supplementation/reintroduction. 

References

BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Collar, N. J.; Butchart, S. H. M. 2013. Conservation breeding and avian diversity: chances and challenges.International Zoo Yearbook.

Collar, N. J.; Mallari, N. A. D.; Tabaranza, B. R. J. 1999. Threatened birds of the Philippines: the Haribon Foundation/BirdLife International Red Data Book. Bookmark, Makati City.

Diesmos, A. C.; Pedregosa, M. D. G. 1995. The conservation status of threatened species of bleeding-hearts (Columbidae) and hornbills (Bucerotidae) in the Philippines.

Mallari, N.A.D., Tabaranza, B.R. and Crosby, M.J. 2001. Key conservation sites in the Philippines: A Haribon Foundation and BirdLife International directory of Important Bird Areas. Bookmark, Makati City, Philippines.