Samar hornbill
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2018) |
| Samar hornbill | |
|---|---|
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| A female (left) and male (right) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Bucerotiformes |
| Family: | Bucerotidae |
| Genus: | Penelopides |
| Species: | P. samarensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Penelopides samarensis Steere, 1890
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| Synonyms | |
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Penelopides panini samarensis | |
The Samar hornbill (Penelopides samarensis) is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in forests on the islands of Samar, Calicoan, Leyte and Bohol in the east-central Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of Visayan hornbill Alternatively, it is considered a subspecies of Mindanao hornbill.
It is illegal to hunt, capture or possess these birds under Philippine Law RA 9147.[2]
Description and taxonomy
[edit]Ebird described it as "A fairly large bird of lowland and foothill forest. Small for a hornbill. Bill fairly short with black bands, and with bare skin around the eyes and chin. Male has pale underparts and head with a black cheek, a pale buffy tail with a black tip, and pale blue facial skin. Female is entirely black with a buffy band through the center of the tail and darker blue facial skin. Rufous hornbilloccurs in some of the same areas, but has a red bill. Samar Hornbill’s voice is a short, medium-pitched honk, reminiscent of a squeaky toy, often given in rapid series."[3]
Formerly was once a single species. Visayan hornbill, Luzon hornbill, Mindanao hornbill and Mindoro hornbill. It is most similar to the Mindanao hornbill which it was again split from although some authorities believe in its treatment as a subspecies. It is differentiated from the Mindanao hornbill as it is larger and the male has black and not rufous uppertail. Its call is also in a slightly lower frequency.[4] Diet is presumed to be similar to other hornbills namely fruit,seeds, insects and small mammals and reptiles.[4]
Habitat and conservation status
[edit]Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forest with most records under 750 meters above sea level.
IUCN still recognizes it as a subspecies of the Mindanao hornbill so there is no specific assessment for this species. However, it has gone extensive lowland deforestation on all islands in its range is the main threat. Most remaining lowland forest that is not afforded protection leaving it vulnerable to both legal and Illegal logging, conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn and mining. There is only 4% forest remaining in Bohol and around 400km2 of primary forest combined in Samar and Leyte with no respite in deforestation.
This occurs in a few protected areas such as Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape and Samar Island Natural Park however protection is lax.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ 11th Congress. "Republic Act No. 9147". Official Gazette of the Philippines.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Samar Hornbill - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ a b Kirwan, Guy M.; Kemp, Alan C.; Boesman, Peter F. D. (2021). "Samar Hornbill (Penelopides samarensis), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.samhor1.02species_shared.bow.project_name. ISSN 2771-3105.
- ^ IUCN (2020-09-09). Penelopides affinis: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T61623294A184679044 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-3.rlts.t61623294a184679044.en.
- Kemp, A. C. (2001). Family Bucerotidae (Hornbills). pp. 436–523 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (2001). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-30-X
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