Hornbills targeted by poachers during breeding season in Bangladesh, Mongabay reports

Hornbills are increasingly at risk of poaching during their breeding season in Bangladesh, with rescue records showing a concentration of cases between May and August, when the birds nest and raise their chicks.

An analysis of manually collected data from the Forest Department and Bangladesh Police by Mongabay found that at least 26 birds — 14 great hornbills (Buceros bicornis) and 12 oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) — were rescued in 12 separate cases between May and August from 2023 to 2026.

Eight of the cases were recorded in southeastern Bangladesh, where hornbill habitats are concentrated. A 2018 report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Bangladesh also documented the collection of hornbills in the Chattogram Hill Tracts during the nesting season.

A 2021 study published in Scientific Reports found that the breeding season of hornbills runs from March to mid-August.

The birds' breeding behaviour makes them particularly vulnerable to hunters, according to Humayra Mahmud, an assistant professor of zoology at Noakhali Science and Technology University who researches hornbills.

“The risk to hornbills during this period is closely tied to their unique breeding behaviour. The female seals herself inside a tree cavity with mud or vegetation and cannot leave the nest during the breeding period,” she said.

The male repeatedly brings food to the female and later to the chicks inside the cavity, making the nest easier for hunters to locate. Once they reach it, hunters can access both the female and her chicks, she added.

Poachers exploit nesting behaviour

A 2025 rescue operation by the Forest Department in Bandarban illustrates how hunters target hornbill nests to collect chicks.

Touhidur Rahman Tagor, a deputy ranger who inspected the case, said two hunters took two great hornbill chicks from a cavity in a gurjan tree (Dipterocarpus turbinatus) about 60 feet above the ground in Yaumbom Para, within the Sangu-Matamuhuri Reserve Forest.

The hunters initially failed to climb the thick tree directly. One later climbed a thinner neighbouring tree to reach the nest cavity, Tagor said.

He added that the hunters told him several trafficking groups in different areas bought hornbills from poachers. The two chicks were being taken to Alikadam upazila in Bandarban for sale.

A similar incident occurred in Cox's Bazar's Baishari Bangdepa Wildlife Sanctuary in 2025, where a poacher took two oriental pied hornbill chicks from a nest cavity in a dense forest.

Nahid Mahmud, a forester at the sanctuary, said he rescued the chicks after the incident.

During his four years working at the sanctuary, Mahmud observed several hornbill nests in large trees, including gurjan and boilam (Anisoptera scaphula), typically 50 to 80 feet above the ground.

Shahriar Caesar Rahman, a member of Creative Conservation Alliance who works on hornbill conservation in the deep forests of southeastern Bangladesh, said local poachers had learned to exploit the birds' breeding behaviour.

“They know the female stays inside the nest while the male regularly brings food, making the nest easier to locate. The chicks are also unable to fly during this period, making them easier to collect,” he said.

Demand for live birds and body parts fuels trade

Demand for both live hornbills and their body parts is driving the trade, according to researchers and Forest Department officials.

Ashim Mallick, an official of the department's Wildlife Crime Control Unit, said most rescued hornbills were chicks taken from nests before they could fly.

He said a chick could fetch up to 100,000 taka ($800) after passing through several buyers.

Adult hornbills, meanwhile, are rarely rescued alive because hunters often kill them for their casques — the prominent structures on top of their bills — and beaks, which are trafficked as trophies, Mallick added.

The trade in live hornbills has also been documented elsewhere in the region. TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organisation, reported rescuing at least 268 live hornbills through 99 rescue operations between 2015 and 2021.

Mahmud said great hornbills were targeted for their casques and beaks, which are used for ornaments, medicinal purposes and traditional items in some communities. The body parts can also serve as status symbols in wealthy households.

Live hornbills are kept in private zoos in several countries, while oriental pied hornbills are also sought as captive birds, she added.

A 2018 WCS Bangladesh report documented baby hornbills being collected from nests and sold to middlemen for $50 each. It also found that live chicks were offered for sale on Facebook, while local hunters killed hornbills for their meat and body parts.

Losing hornbills threatens forest regeneration

The decline of hornbills could have consequences beyond the loss of individual birds, as they play an important role in maintaining tropical forests.

Hornbills feed on fruit and disperse seeds away from parent trees, helping plants regenerate and spread across forest ecosystems. A 2011 study found that hornbills provide significant seed-dispersal services to tropical plants in their habitats.

Bangladesh has records of three hornbill species. The country's National Red List, published in 2015, classified the great hornbill as vulnerable, the oriental pied hornbill as least concern and the wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus) as data deficient.

All three species are protected under Bangladesh's Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012, which prohibits their hunting, capture and killing.

However, conservationists warn that rescue records capture only detected incidents. Many more birds may be hunted or trafficked without coming to the attention of authorities.

The recurring cases point to a persistent threat during the breeding season, when the birds' nesting behaviour leaves females and chicks particularly exposed.

Samiul Mohsanin, coordinator of Combating Wildlife Trade under WCS Bangladesh's Terrestrial Conservation Program, called for legal action against wildlife traffickers alongside greater public awareness in communities near hornbill habitats.

“Those involved in trafficking should be brought under the law. At the same time, people living around habitats need to be made aware of the importance of hornbills. It can help prevent the collection of birds and chicks during breeding season,” he said.