INDONESIA

-- What do red-knobbed hornbills of
Indonesia have in common
with the -rain forest of
Sulawesi? A 16t, it seems.
They help in maintaining
and regenerating the rain
forests of the region while
depending upon it. "The
hornbills are the farmers
of the Sulawesi forest,"
says Margaret Kinnaird of
the 'Wildlife Conservation
Society. The red-knobbed
hornbill is native to -Sulawesi
and other neighbouring
islands. The birds travel far
and wide in search of fruits
from a vast variety of trees,
particularly energy-richfigs,
and they deposit their
seeds in both primary and
secondary forests, and
-also burned habitats.
Research conducted by
Kinnaird shows that many
red-knobbed hornbills are
linked td fig production on
the forested slopes of
Tangkoko Volcano. The
density of fig trees and fruit
production in Tangkoko is
exceptionally high compared
with other Southeast Asian
forests, where the hornbill
population is relatively
small.