The survey will begin at the end of December and will last until the end of March or the beginning of April 2026. | Photo credit: M. Sathyamoorthy
Forest officials in Tamil Nadu are planning to launch a large-scale field exercise to understand the status of hornbill populations in forest landscapes.
The effort is timed to coincide with the birds’ breeding season and is part of the state’s hornet conservation initiative announced earlier this year, a senior official said.
Starting in late December, the teams will survey the hornbill habitats until late March or early April 2026. The first phase will cover the Anamalai, Srivilliputhur–Megamalai and Kalakkad–Mundathurai tiger reserves along with Karamadai and Mettupalayam ranges under the Coimbatore forest division. These locations were prioritized based on earlier records and sightings of hornbills, the official said.
The survey is expected to be conducted using a line transect method, with forest staff, biologists and researchers walking several kilometers each day through identified habitats to record sightings and estimate population density.
Four species are expected to be documented during the survey – Great Hornbill, Malabar Hornbill, Gray Hornbill and Malabar Hornbill. Apart from population numbers, the initiative also focuses on habitat conservation, particularly the preservation of large mature trees with natural cavities that hornbills depend on for nesting, the official added.
In July 2025, the state government announced the establishment of the country’s first center of excellence for hornbill conservation at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Coimbatore district.
Once the current phase is complete, the survey is expected to provide accurate population estimates to help guide long-term conservation strategies.
Published – 20 Dec 2025 19:18 IST
