DULUNGAN

WRITTEN BY FRANCIS MISSION PHOTOS BY DAVID QUIMPO/ HARIBON FOUNDATION INC.

Nest builders of hope and persistence

THE FLAGSHIP BIRD SPECIES OF THE PROVINCE OF ANTIQUE Under the scorching heat of the sun, groves align both sides of the trail, with their foliage resembling a verdant canopy for avid scouters. Footsteps through the bushy tuft produce sounds as they traverse towards the glade in the lawn of the forest. Campers have to trek approximately five to seven kilometers in order to reach the mountain top. Upon reaching the peak, a flock of birds can be seen flying to the west. After a while, they heard a screech ten meters away from their tents. Everyone gathered in the pinnacle to witness the magnificent hues of birds reflected in the apparent descent of the sun at the horizon. As the gray light dusked the camping site, the bonfires begin to light.

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According to the Philippine Geography, our country is rich in natural resources including the different species of plants and animals that may help contribute in maintaining the equilibrium of our ecosystem. For most tourists visiting the Philippines, Panay in Western Visayas, is considered as one of the most visited islands because of its undiscovered tourist spots. Nevertheless, Panay is not only a place for vacations and tours, but it is also a home to a number of endemic but threatened and critically endangered species. One of which is the Rufous-headed Hornbill.

Among the most threatened in the wild, the Rufousheaded Hornbill or Walden’s Hornbill also called as Visayan Wrinkled Hornbill or Writhed-Billed Hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus Waldeni) known locally as “Dulungan”, is one of the 11 hornbill species that can be found in the rainforests on the islands of Negros and Panay.

Dulungan has its own unique and distinct features in order to recognize their sexes. The male has rufous head, neck and upper breast. It showcases red and yellow on its head and beaks, and the rest of the body plumage blackish with glossed green upperparts, has orange bare orbital angular skin. While the female boasts a pop of blue against its crimson throat, has white bare orbital and gular skin paired with blue and black underparts. Both males and females have ocular skins that make them more attractive and pleasing regardless of their notorious goat-like call.

Despite of their resounding outcry and grotesque resemblance, Rufous-Headed Hornbills are the most elusive among any other hornbills but these Dulungans can also be found in the province of Antique particularly in the montane forests of Culasi and lush mountains of Sebaste. Because of the abundance of its various biological diversity, Antique has become not just a habitat for plants and animals but reckons as the sanctuary of wildlife.

Dulungans are one of the most responsible birds because they have the bizarre method of protecting their young in which they are highly territorial and eager to defend their nest site. Unlike other bird species, Dulungan has a unique habit of nesting in hollow trees. However, these birds are slow breeders and the breeding season is their weakest period but Dulungan parents work together to ensure their chicks’ survival. As the females burrowed inside their nests nursing the young, the males tend to fly around looking for food and return home to feed their hungry chicks.

Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, Inc. or simply known as Haribon Foundation, is the country’s pioneering environmental conservation organization advocating biodiversity conservation through building constituents, empowering communities and applying multidisciplinary research. The Haribon Society, on its founding years, yields on bird conservation where they conduct research, collaborates with local agencies, communities and indigenous people, and engage different groups and individuals in an exhilarating quest for the Specie of Hope and globally-threatened Dulungan. Their journey over the decades has extricated captivating verity about the Philippine birds that are in most need of protection and security, including their habitats.

As an educational institution, University of Antique (UA) was tapped by the Haribon Foundation to become one of its partners for the implementation of the school-based information campaign and conduct researches to raise awareness about the Dulungan, to promote a various community-based intervention to save the species and engage the youth on biodiversity conservation in more creative ways. In response to this proposal, through the formulation of the Critical Habitat Management Plan (CHMP), UA was able to conduct workshops to introduce Dulungan to students and encourage them to take part on this advocacy.

“In order to preserve the forest, you have also to preserve the Dulungan for they are the seed dispensers or farmers of the forest,” Dr. Dolorosa Pajarillo, Team Leader of the UA Research Team on Dulungan said in an interview. Dulungan also serves as the “Health of the Forests” because of its ability in propagating the plants. While the female was left cooping inside the hollow tree, the male is tasked to find their food. It carries the food (mostly the seeds) through its beaks and if the bird can no longer hold the seed, it let the seed fall to the ground. Through time, the seed develops and grow to a new tree and the cycle continues until all the areas of the forest have been covered by trees from the seeds that were being scattered by Dulungans.

Towering ridges, steep cliffs, flowing rivers, crackling sounds of twigs, rustling leaves, and nostalgic allure of sunlight, the trees of the montane forests grow dense --- closed canopy, evergreen --- mostly undamaged by human activity, are too far different from what is being experienced by these species at present. Poaching, hunting, and habitat loss are some of the more threats to Dulungan. Chronic deforestation caused by illegal logging, burn farming, expansion of agricultural lands, and encroachment from settlers has led Dulungan to its extinction and extreme scarcity and only 23% of the Philippines’ original forests remain. After decades of perversion, the Rainforests of the Philippines have been transformed into a vast swathes of desert thereby reducing its population over the year.

Dulungan inhabits in a lowland dipterocarp forests with a tall hardwood tropical trees. Therefore, there is a need to restore their sanctuary and guarantee that they are able to thrive and survive alongside humans, hence, it is further important to create a critical mass of individuals who have similar framework for action and the necessary skills to pursue biodiversity management. People are responsible stewards of the environment. They have to ensure a sustainable approach in carrying the quality of life that values sustainable development for the preservation of ecosystem. Planting trees that cater birds, implementing nest guarding scheme, anti-poaching and illegal logging crackdown can bring back the homes of the Philippine birds. Through a massive information dissemination campaign, community efforts to save and protect Dulungan has also to increase drastically.

A certain individual doesn’t need to be an expert to help contribute in saving the nature, sometimes, it takes a willing heart to take a step and lead the way. In spite of its heavy-looking appearance, Dulungan has been declared as a “Flagship Specie” of the Province of Antique. Dulungan conservation is a pride that Antiqueños should be proud of.