Unoccupied hornbill nests worry bird experts

INDORE: The

Indian Grey Hornbill

, a bird that nests in tree crevices, have shown remarkable change in their nesting behaviour in the city. While the birds are known to occupy the same nests year after year, they have left some unoccupied this year.

According to

bird expert Ajay Gadikar

, out of the 10 nests he observes every year, four lie vacant this year.

"This is a matter of concern. While is too early to reach to a conclusion, my observations say that this has occurred due to human interference," He said.

Environmentalist Anil Pimpalpure

from Maharashtra, who has conducted many studies on the species, was also of the opinion that certain threats might have forced the birds to move away.

"We study birds' behaviour in Nagpur and other nearby areas. Like every year, all tree cavities have been occupied in this region. If a change in behaviour has been observed in Indore, then there might be external factors behind this. There are also chances some of the birds died or found other habitats," Pimpalpure said.

Two of the four nests observed are on trees in the zoo. Hornbills have been breeding in plants' cavities for many years. Indore zoo in the process of building a new gate near the main one and experts claim this may be a reason why the hornbills haven't returned.

A nest at Navaratan Bagh area also remained unoccupied. Though this area is under the forest department, the scope of any human intervention is less. Gadikar had spotted an Indian Grey Hornbill living in crevices of a building near Holkar stadium. This year Hornbills have given that a miss too.

"There was a window in the building that earlier remained shut, this year they have opened the window pane. This has disturbed the habitat," Gadikar said. Experts claimed hornbills have nested two weeks earlier this year than their usual time.