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Hornbill Habitat

Ganeshgudi, Katnataka, 15 Feb 2006

Hornbills are the lifeblood of the rainforests. These birds largely feed of fruits and play a dynamic role in seed dispersal of numerous trees and are critically important to the regeneration and survival of the rainforest ecosystems. These are the major seed dispersers, which carry the seeds many miles from its original location.

I have many portrait shots of this bird (and so do many wildlife photographers), but this is my favorite photograph of the lot. Many people think this is a bad picture, since it's out of focus, but for me this represents the bird, its amazing flight and its lovely habitat... all in one single frame. Normally you do not get such an open space in the rain forests. I was lucky here as I was on the kali river and this bird was flying at the edge of it.


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