Endangered Hornbills Saved on the Wall

Endangered Hornbills Saved on the Wall

Art Works and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Hornbills or kalaw birds are symbols of strength, protection, and connection to humanity and the spiritual world.

 

Beauty and the Hornbills, detail of a wall mural by the author. Miss Riza Fenis poses with a pair of hornbills painted on a wall at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, 2019.

Likened to The Beauty and the Beast,

a living story in our midst;

a ghost of our folly like the Genie

tamed no less by beauty;

But, could it be man the real enemy?

ask the endangered specie(s).

The Last of the Hornbills, wall mural at the author's residence

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

"It's a dirge I hear, once your cheerful call,

its refrain drowned in silence in eerie air;

in the like of Vivaldi's music, if I recall,

seeing you on screen in an easy chair." - avr

A pair of kalaw from an -on-the-spot sketch by the author

Pugudpud, Ilocos Norte, circa 1976

The hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in the Philippines, and other parts of tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly colored and sometimes has a casque (helmet) on the upper mandible. Locally known as kalaw this bird is classified under the list of threatened species as forests reserves continue to dwindle due to logging and kaingin (swidden farming).