Animals

The March of the Red Crab
A Moth Find a New Home
Suicidal Birds
A leopard and A cheetah
The Spectacular Hornbill
The Antelope with an extraordinary nose
Masquerading Males
Tiny But Powerful
Electric Fishes
Paternal Care
Hairless Cat
Passionate Parrot
Calling Out To Mother
Hot Wheels
Discs On Their Wings
Two-humped Camels
Frozen Frog
Silken Chambers
Earth Pig
Swordsman of the Sea
The Ostrich Trick
Electrifying Meal
Bizarre Turtle
Grey Whales
The Flying Lemur
The Winged Fishing Creature
Llamas
A Different Sort of a Parrot
The Tailless Cat
The Ancestor Of The Rhino
Acquisitive Wood Rats
The Butterflyfish
The Amazing Jumper
The Largest Deer
The Devil’s Coach-Horse
The Porcupine With A Prehensile Tail
The Irritating Fencing
The Acrobatic Otter
The Busy Termite Colony
Superb Mimics
The Canary
Snow Monkey
Jumping Spiders
Glass Lizard
Beetle Rhino
The World’s Smallest Bear
Hygienic Ants
Flat as a Pancake
The Carpet Shark
The Centipede Walk

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Hornbills

By Rani Iyer

It was a cool morning. Crouching on the ground on all fours we were busy counting the seedlings. Unease settled over the group as we heard something approaching. About a minute later we saw the great pied hornbill fly past us. We continued to hear the wing beat for a long time!
About forty-six species of hornbills live in forests of Asia and Africa. Their large bill, slow and sluggish flight, easily distinguishes them. Of the nine hornbill species found in the Indian subcontinent, the great pied hornbill (Buceros bicornis) is the largest. It is found in a wide range of habitats from sea level to 5, 000 feet. The wings measure up to five feet, while the tail can be about three feet long. Covered in black plumage, with a yellow bill that curves downward, it is a beautiful bird.

A casque tops the hornbill's head. Although made of ivory, the casque is light, being made with thin-walled hollow cells. Great pied hornbill is mainly a fruit eater, but they also eat small animals like squirrels. Hornbills swallow most of their food whole; they regurgitate the indigestible parts like bones and pits.
The male and female of hornbills pair for life. When it is time to lay eggs, the female retires to a tree hollow. The male swallows dung and mud from the forest floor. He expels these materials in the form of small saliva-made pellets, for the female to plaster on the sides of the entrance until a small opening remains. Only a part of the bill fits into this window. The female lays about 2-4 round, white eggs. After about 40 days, the eggs hatch. The youngsters mature in about 4-8 weeks. Mothers remain with them during their maturation. During the time the female is inside with the chicks, she molts completely and loses her power of flight!
The male swallows food and regurgitates them into the beak of the female when she is enclosed in the tree. In many species, the female breaks her way out of the nest a week or two before the young are ready to leave the shelter. New tail and wing feathers have grown enabling the female to fly. The young hornbills immediately rebuild the entrance barrier. The parents take turn feeding the young. Not all species of hornbill live on trees. Some hornbills like Abyssinian hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus) and Southern Ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) live on the ground.
All over the world, hornbills are hunted for their meat, feathers, and ivory. Being large birds, mainly fruit eaters, the loss of forests and breeding places (by removal of dead trees) causes a lot of hardship to hollow nesting species of hornbills. The species is endangered in its natural range of occurrence. Even a dead, hollowed tree is important for the survival of a species. Everything in nature is connected and useful.

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Last updated on :10/11/2003