Vince expertly presented our work on the breeding ecology of the Luzon Hornbill Penelopides manillae. This paper has already been submitted for publication in a journal and is awaiting review. Here's the abstract of the paper:

The Luzon Hornbill (Tariktik; Penelopides manillae manillae) is one of the smallest hornbills in the Philippines and is endemic to the lowland forests of Greater Luzon. Due to the intensifying threats of deforestation, land-use change, and wildlife poaching, they have been listed as Vulnerable by the Philippine Red List in 2020. Unfortunately, ecological, and natural history studies on the species remain scarce. In this paper, we present the tree and cavity preferences, diet, some aspects of the breeding biology, and the first description of the breeding behavior of the Luzon Hornbills. Seven nests at the Subic Watershed Forest Reserve were examined for cavity, opening length and width, vertical and horizontal depth) and tree (i.e., tree status: live or dead) characteristics. Nests were accessed through single rope climbing techniques post-fledging. One active nest was also monitored for breeding behavior and diet from March to June 2022 for a total of 75 hours. Information from this study may help guide conservation efforts to focus on: 1) planting of the preferred nesting and fruiting trees of the Luzon Hornbills to secure future potential nesting sites and food sources during the breeding season; and 2) creation of species-specific nest boxes for ex-situ conservation and/or to support hornbill breeding in the wild in areas where cavities may be in shortage. With only 4 of 11 Philippine hornbills virtually known biologically and ecologically, our findings add valuable insights on the natural history of hornbills in the country.