What do red-knobbed hornbills of Indonesia have in common with the -rain forest of Sulawesi? A 16t, it seems. They help in maintaining and regenerating the rain forests of the region while depending upon it. "The hornbills are the farmers of the Sulawesi forest," says Margaret Kinnaird of the 'Wildlife Conservation Society. The red-knobbed hornbill is native to -Sulawesi and other neighbouring islands. The birds travel far and wide in search of fruits from a vast variety of trees, particularly energy-richfigs, and they deposit their seeds in both primary and secondary forests, and -also burned habitats. Research conducted by Kinnaird shows that many red-knobbed hornbills are linked td fig production on the forested slopes of Tangkoko Volcano. The density of fig trees and fruit production in Tangkoko is exceptionally high compared with other Southeast Asian forests, where the hornbill population is relatively small.