Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) and Local Birds: A status survey across Chandigarh region, India
Neelam K. Sharma1, Dalip kumar2, Sushma Gupta3 and Rashmi Kohli4*
1Professor, Department of Zoology, Postgraduate Government College for Girls, Sector-42, Chandiagrh (India) 2,3Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Postgraduate Government College for Girls, Sector-42, Chandiagrh (India) 4Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Postgraduate Government College for Girls, Sector-42, Chandiagrh (India) *Corresponding Author
ABSTRACT
A project was carried out in Chandigarh to survey the awareness and knowledge about the existence and distribution of various birds especially the state bird of Chandigarh i.e. Ocyceros birostris. In response to a question about their love for birds out of 827 responses 41% liked Peacock as their favourite bird, Parrot was the favourite of 25%, 2% liked all the birds, 8% did not have any favourite bird. Rest 73 persons did not respond to this question. Responding to a question about hornbill 514 persons recognized this bird and 386 did not recognize this bird even after showing the pictures along with the questionnaire. This shows that a fairly good number of people were able to recognize this bird. It was observed that 394 persons knew that this bird is State bird of Chandigarh but 506 persons did not know about it. Scope of the project was to create more awareness about this bird is needed for general public. Because despite being a State Bird of Chandiagrh, India not much are aware of it. The Hornbills belong to the family Buceritidae after the name Buceros which means “cow horn” in Greek. They look different because of their distinctive bill and can be recognized very easily. The large bill assists in fighting, preening, constructing the nest and catching prey. The bill has a casque over it. The casque is larger in males than in females. They have bright skin around their eyes and long eye lashes.