Why in news?

•  Union Home Minister has inaugurated hugely popular Hornbill Festival 2018 in Kohima, coinciding with the Formation Day of Nagaland.

Hornbill Festival 2018:

• The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 – 10 December, in Kohima, Nagaland.
• The first festival was held in the year 2000.
•  Nagas celebrate this festival to revive, protect, sustain and promote the richness of the Naga heritage and traditions.
•  The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.
•  The festival pays tribute to Hornbill, the most admired and revered bird for the Nagas for its qualities of alertness and grandeur.
•  Organized by the Nagaland State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments, the Festival showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof.
•  Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, herbal medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, cultural medley – songs and dances, fashion shows etc.

Great Indian Hornbill:

• The great hornbill (Bucerosbicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
• The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
•  It is predominantly fruit eating, but is an opportunist and preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
•  Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
•  IUCN status: Vulnerable (uplisted from Near Threatened in 2018). It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES.