A ‘Real’ Great Hornbill Mount, Hornbill Festival

This image taken at the annual 2010 Hornbill Festival in Nagaland shows real (top) and fake hornbill mounts being sold. According to the photographer, there were at least half a dozen real heads on display in addition to hornbill tail feathers. The govt. of Nagaland has been attempting to move various tribes from using real hornbill body parts (head, casque and feathers) as part of their costumes and handicrafts — with mixed results.

It is pretty ironic that Nagaland’s premier festival is named after the bird that is virtually extinct in the state thanks to excessive hunting. Only some human-uninhabited forests in the state may hold the last few hornbills in Nagaland.