RESEARCH ARTICLE

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT ECOLOGY OF SRI LANKA GREY HORNBILL (Ocycerous gingalensis) IN THE ANURADHAPURA DISTRCT NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCE, SRI LANKA

Abstract

The least concern endemic Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (SLGH) and Near Threatened Malabar Pied Hornbill (MPH:) are, only hornbill species in Sri Lanka. Even though they are large bodied, basic information on distribution and feeding ecology remains scarce. This study mainly focused on assessing the distribution of hornbill populations in some land-use types protected areas, remnant forest patches and home gardens within Anuradhapura district of the North Central Province. Fixed-line transects and opportunistic observations were used for data collection in 2014 and 2015. The SLGH was recorded in 17 localities. The SLGH was recorded in the forest and non-forest semi-urban areas. The distribution of SLGH was significantly higher (p = 0.006) in non forested habitats than in forest habitats. Results showed that the SLGH was widely distributed in non-forest habitats. Majority of nesting sites of SLGH recorded in edge habitats than the forest interior and numbers of nests were reduced due to limited number of suitable cavities. Thus populations of these this species has declined due to deforestation and restricted nesting sites in some areas. Urgent conservation measures need to be implemented.

Keywords: Gray Hornbill, forest habitats, nesting site, population

How to Cite: Wickramasinghe,S,Panduwawala,P, Wijerathna,I, (2018). DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT ECOLOGY OF SRI LANKA GREY HORNBILL (Ocycerous gingalensis) IN THE ANURADHAPURA DISTRCT NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCE, SRI LANKA.WILDLANKA, 6(1):Pages 001-007

Published On:2018-03-31

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