A four-day photo exhibit featuring various bird species in Antique, including the writhed-billed hornbill or “dulungan,” opened at the old provincial capitol here Thursday.

The photos were collections of the Haribon Foundation, Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. and Antique’s Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO), which captured the birds in their natural habitat.

The Aug. 24-31 exhibit, which marks the celebration of Dulungan Month this August, hopes to raise public awareness about the species and for them to appreciate the provincial bird of Antique based on Provincial Ordinance 04, series of 2000.

Antique Vice Governor Edgar Denosta, in his message during the exhibit opening, said the dulungan is the new attraction for tourists, especially birdwatchers who stay in Antique for two to three days to get a glimpse of the bird.

“I happened to meet several groups of birdwatchers in the mountainous side of the province who are really amazed by the dulungan,” he said.

Denosta said he plans to pass a resolution during their Sept. 4 regular session to organize local birdwatchers and ENRO personnel as tour guides.

Meanwhile, an increase in the population of the bird in the municipalities has been noted, according to Board Member Pio Jessielito Sumande, author of the ordinances declaring the dulungan as the provincial bird and August as Dulungan Month.

“For these past years that we had been observing the Dulungan Month, we have been informed that the birds could be spotted in the different towns of the province,” Sumande said in his message during the opening program.

He said their presence in Antique indicates the province’s rich biodiversity.

ENRO officer Vivian Marfil said thousands of endemic trees, such as the Java plum, have been serving as habitat for the bird.

The ENRO will have a commitment signing with the 18 municipalities of the province during the culmination of the Dulungan Month for the protection of the provincial bird in their localities.

“We also will be conducting bird counting next year before the Dulungan Month so that we will know the population of the birds in Antique and where they are mostly found,” she said.

A Haribon Foundation study in 1986 said about 25 pairs of dulungan were found in the towns of Sebaste, Culasi and Pandan but their population could have grown more.

“What is notable with the dulungan, which is very colorful and monogamous, (is that it) could only be found in the island of Negros and Panay, particularly in Antique province,” she said. (PNA)