Phylum Chordata Family Bucerotidae Scientific name Penelopides manillae Rank Species | ||
 | ||
Similar Penelopides, Hornbill, Bird, Mindanao hornbill, Visayan hornbill | ||
Luzon hornbill
The Luzon hornbill (Penelopides manillae), sometimes called Luzon tarictic hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the Bucerotidae family. It is endemic to forests on Luzon and nearby islands in the northern Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of P. panini.
Contents
There are two subspecies of the Luzon hornbill: the relatively widespread nominate subspecies, and subniger from the islands of Polillo and Patnanongan. It was hunted for meat, but is now considered to be safe, as a new hunting ban has been enforced.
In captivity
This species is kept in captivity. Jurong Bird Park keeps some specimens in their hornbill complex. There are two pairs in two different aviaries and Jurong bred the species on one occasion. Safari World in Thailand also has some Luzon hornbills, and several zoos in the Philippines have achieved some success in breeding them. San Diego Wild Animal Park used to keep and breed the species, but now the only ones outside Asia are kept at zoos in Berlin and Frankfurt. Berlin keeps the nominate subspecies and Frankfurt have a pair of the subniger. There have been problems with tarictic hornbills in captivity because all species were previously considered conspecific. For example, the birds at Frankfurt are listed as subniger but do not have the correct bill colouration.
