The discovery of the first nest of Wreathed Hornbills Aceros undulatus in Malaysia has fuelled calls to protect the Temengor Forest Reserve, a hotspot for hornbills.
A team from the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) made the discovery when a male was seen feeding berries to its mate, sealed up inside a nest-hole. The Temengor region is not formally protected and logging still takes place there, while in the neighbouring area of Belum an area was set aside earlier this year as a State Park.
The Belum-Temengor complex is the only place where all ten species of of Malaysian hornbills can be found together. “These hornbills are known to migrate long distances in search of fruiting resources and therefore require large contiguous areas of forest to survive,” said Yeap Chin Aik, Head of Conservation at MNS. “This discovery gives hope that the globally threatened Plain-pouched Hornbill, a close relative of the Wreathed Hornbill, may perhaps be nesting in Belum-Temengor too.”
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