Hornbills of India- caricatures

Hornbills are spectacular-looking birds characterized by their horn-shaped bills and the casque on the upper mandible. They are also famous for their extremely complex and unusual nesting behaviour in which the female locks herself up in a tree hollow to raise her chicks, while being entirely dependent on the male during this period (cartoon here). A lot has been studied and written about their indispensable role in nature as dispersers of figs (cartoon on the fig tree). Their family name 'Bucerotidae' translates to 'cow horn' in Greek. Here is a set of caricatures of 9 of these birds that occur in India-

A medium-sized arboreal bird, the Indian Grey Hornbill is probably the only hornbill species that can be seen in urban surroundings in India. Usually seen in pairs, it makes for quite a sight when you're driving along a forest fringe and suddenly a pair flies past you, uttering its characteristic, pleasant squeal.

A Western Ghats endemic, the Malabar Grey Hornbill sets itself apart from other hornbills by the absence of a casque on a brightly coloured bill. This species has made itself at home in orchards and coffee plantations that are fast replacing its habitat. 

The Malabar Pied Hornbill is found in evergreen and moist deciduous forests from India eastwards to Borneo. Although primarily a fig-eater, it has an omnivorous diet, often consuming birds and reptiles. It is listed as Near-threatened on IUCN's Red List.

The largest and probably the most celebrated among Indian hornbills, the Great Pied Hornbill is a magnificent looking bird, found in most of South-east Asia. Several tribal cultures and rituals revere this species, but this has also endangered its existence as it is killed for its casque. The bird is known to live long, upto 50 years in captivity. Habitat loss and poaching have brought it to the Near-threatened section of the IUCN Red List.

The Austen's Brown Hornbill is one of the rarest hornbills of India, found in evergreen hill forests of the north-east. It is omnivorous in its diet, eating fruits, insects, lizards and snails. It is usually seen in territorial flocks of 2-15 birds.

Confined to a tiny island called Narcondam in the Andamans, this species is endangered, with only around 450 birds surviving in the wild (cartoon here). The species shows distinct sexual dimorphism, with the male sporting a rufous head and neck, and the female entirely black. The island of Narcondam has been unpopulated so far, and the protection of this pristine island from human activity is crucial to the bird's survival.

The Oriental Pied Hornbill ranges across South-east Asia and inhabits moist lowland forests. It is separated from the similar looking Malabar Pied Hornbill by the difference in the shape of the markings on the casque. 

My favourite among Indian hornbills, this beautiful species has suffered from poaching and habitat loss, landing up in the Vulnerable category of IUCN's Red List. A sexually dimorphic species, males sport rufous necks while the females are black. Hill forests of the north-east are the home of the Rufous-necked Hornbill.

 Also known as the Bar-pouched hornbill, the Wreathed Hornbill too is sexually dimorphic, with males bearing a creamy head and a rufous nape, while the female is black. Evergreen forests of the North-east house Wreathed Hornbills in India.

The compilation as well as individual species are available as A4, A3 size prints.  I've also added a new range of goodies now, listed with their prices below-

A2 Posters (loose)- Rs. 1200 each
Mounted Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 2000

Loose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards

Fridge Magnets (3" x 4", Printed in sets of 4)- Any 4 hornbills for Rs. 1200

Coasters (3.5" x 3.5", Printed in sets of 6)- Any 6 hornbills for Rs. 800

Coffee Mug (Hornbills of India)- Rs. 850

Hard Cover Diary (Any one hornbill on the cover)- Rs. 800

The hornbill mug

Hornbill magnets

Hornbill coasters

You can email me (rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com) with the number of prints and your postal address to order these.

For orders outside of India, please visit my Redbubble store here.

World Fish Migration Day

It's World Fish Migration Day! Fish are the very backbone of several ecosystems across the planet, with a multitude of organisms depending primarily on them for survival, right from grizzlies to birds to people. Uninterrupted fish migration is essential for the maintenance of healthy fish stocks, but is threatened by dams, mines, unsustainable fishing practices, agriculture and pollution today. Not surprisingly, the direct negative impacts of this are being observed not only on wild animals but on humans as well. Visit http://www.worldfishmigrationday.com/ for more information.

World Turtle Day- The Olive Ridley Turtle

I had travelled to Velas earlier this year, which is a coastal village in India known to be one of the few nesting sites of the Olive Ridley Turtle. Only after my visit did I realize how serious the conservation threats faced by sea turtles really are. Sea turtles like the Olive Ridleys have an extremely fragile breeding ecology, and just one threat could mean a whole year's conservation efforts gone vain. There are numerous problems that threaten sea turtles, most of which have landed up in IUCN's Endangered and Critically Endangered lists in recent times. This cartoon talks about the major threats to the Olive Ridley, but these are more or less common to practically every marine turtle species. 

Happy World Turtle Day, turtle lovers! I hope events such as these strive to educate and spread awareness about turtle conservation. 

(PS- My caricature of the Olive Ridley can be viewed here)

Birding elsewhere vs Birding in North-East India

Here's a little cartoon that sums up my first birding experience in North-east India that happened in February this year, on my trip to Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary for the Arunachal Bird Festival (more about that here). The North-east is an extremely biodiversity-rich zone where a dense evergreen canopy covers the foothills of the Himalayas. A majority of the bird species found in India breed here and for a birder from Central India, it is like walking into a physics exam with one night of prep! Had it not been for Phurpa, a local bird guide who was so well-versed with the species there that he could actually 'communicate' with wren babblers and owlets for several minutes (!), I would not have been able to even identify half of the 70 lifers (you heard that- Seventy!) that I got to add to my checklist on this trip! The North-east has to be designated as India's birding paradise.

 Hunting and habitat loss however, are rampant in these parts and are decimating wildlife populations.

Coal Mine or Highway

One of the major problems facing wildlife conservation in Indian is the inability of our policy makers to understand that development and conservation need to be co-existent. Over the years, mines have ravaged critical tiger habitats, dams have messed with biodiversity-rich rivers, power projects and industries have decimated areas abundant in fauna. The conservation jigsaw will only get harder and harder to solve if sustainable solutions to these problems are not found.

With the recent political turnaround in India, I hope that these are not the only choices the tiger is left with.

Elephant Dung- a crapload of magic!

A pile of pure magic, a bio-indicator, a microecosystem and an entire wildlife sanctuary- those are just a few tags you can assign to elephant dung! Here's a poster on one of the most accomplished dung balls in the animal kingdom!

The full poster is available as A3 size prints. For poster orders within India, please mail me to order your copies (rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com)

For international orders, please click here to buy prints from my Redbubble store.

Published in the May issue of Saevus magazine.

Lunch Hours at the Department of Taxonomy

Published in Saevus magazine in January.

Mothers' Day- The Jaguar Mom

The bite of the Jaguar has been recorded to be the strongest among cats, about twice as strong as that of a lion. Its jaws are also the second strongest pairs of all mammals, after the Spotted Hyena. This property enables this big cat to deploy a hunting method that is unique among felids- biting through the skull between the ears, directly piercing the brain. This technique is used specifically to kill Capybaras. 

How the jaguar mom still manages to carry her little furballs without even a scratch, beats me! No wonder this formidable yet soft-hearted predator is revered in Mesoamerican cultures.

Happy Mothers' Day to all moms, tame and wild!

Afro Earth

A cartoon on industrial pollution, published in Tinkle Digest this month. 

Vagrant Birds

World Migratory Birds' Day is to be celebrated this weekend. Some of you lucky birders  must have come across vagrants or 'off-range' birds. These are birds that stray away from their breeding, wintering or migrating range. Bird vagrancies occur because of several reasons. Storms and blizzards may blow marine birds inland. Inexperience may cause juveniles to overshoot their destination. Some genetic abnormalities may interfere with the bird's perception of the earth's magnetic field, hence affecting their journey. Some may even be consumed by wanderlust, simply travelling to new places to witness new cultures and meet new people. Kidding. Whatever the reason, watching vagrant birds is a delight for birdwatchers as it brings a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tick that elusive 'off-ranger' off your checklist. One such recent record was that of the Black-legged Kittiwake from my hometown, Nagpur in Central India.

The Worker Ant

An ant colony typically consists of winged males called drones, one or more queens, and workers. While the job of the males is to simply mate and die, and that of the queen is to propagate; it is the workers that do the dirty jobs and keep the colony running- much like your boss sitting in his cabin playing Solitaire all day and you slogging on that stupid Powerpoint. Worker ants are all sterile females who perform the tasks we normally see ants do, like hunting, carrying food, building the nest and protecting it from predators, taking care of the young and even fighting invaders- a job for the larger workers equipped with stronger mandibles, referred to as the soldiers.

Happy International Workers' Day!