Kohima, December 2, 2017: As the 18th edition of Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival is progressing, a number of visitors are making their way to Nagaland to witness this mega-event.
Though the Hornbill birds are a treasure in the Naga culture, Hornbill birds are a rare sight in Nagaland today. The number of visitors to Nagaland during the Hornbill Festival has recorded a steady rise over the years but this year special visitors came to the festival– the real Hornbill birds.
No official confirmation by any competent authority has been made as of date but eyewitnesses have claimed that the famed Hornbill birds have been roosting in flocks at Minkong forest of Mokokchung. While some eyewitnesses identified the birds as the Wreathed Hornbill, some claim that it is the Great Hornbill. Elderly citizens claim that the Hornbill birds are witnessed in the region after almost three decades.
Some people have come forward with photographic images of the birds. The flight corridor of the sighted Hornbill birds is from the eastern side of Mokokchung via Noksen area of neighbouringTuensang district.
The Hornbill birds were also sighted last year during the same season in Mokokchung. The Wildlife Division, Dimapur had last year confirmed that Wreathed Hornbill birds roosted in the dense forests of Jangpetkong Range in Mokokchung district.
The migration of the Hornbill birds to Mokokchung has come as a pleasant surprise to many but sadly, poaching of the birds in the neighbouring areas of Mokokchung have also taken place as reported on social media.
