About the artwork: Great Hornbills are charismatic birds of wet evergreen and moist deciduous forests. They are also habitat specialists and obligatory frugivorous birds. However, their abundance has directly been related to forest health and the ecosystem. Given their sharp decline owing to forest fragmentation and habitat loss, chances of witnessing them in wild are becoming thin. My motivation to paint the Great Hornbill is to make small efforts toward the conservation of this species and to further the forest. Besides, the process of painting gives me immense pleasure in understanding the colour of the feathers, type of casque, and their habitats. 

Not only the charismatic animals but all other sorts of animals have their own space and role in maintaining nature’s balance. Let’s come together and save the forest!”

Artist: Deepti Gupta is a PhD Scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. She is also a research biologist at Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural history, Coimbatore. She has worked in the Central Indian landscape for many years and wishes to continue her research in the same landscape. She has studied multiple aspects of these forests, from large carnivores to ungulates and floral community dynamics. She has a keen interest in painting wildlife, trekking and bird watching. 

Art medium: Colour pencils on paper.

Reference Photo: Shantanu Kuveskar (accessed through Wikipedia and permission of the photographer.