“She thinks I am a mother Hornbill, not a human”.
I was curious to know more. I was listening to a conversation between two young girls in a cafe. Bad manners, I know, but I couldn’t have closed my ears. They were loud and sitting at a table right behind me.
“You should go to your mother’s place for your delivery”.
Now I got the context.
The girl who was complaining was expecting her first child. As is customary in many traditional, conservative North Indian families, after childbirth she was expected to follow some traditions. In her family, even if it was the scorching hot North Indian Summer, the mother and her newborn child are limited to a room for forty days. The room is not well-lit or airy. No air conditioners are allowed, and the fan too has to be on at a very slow speed. The mother is covered from head to toe. She is fed bland food given to her by her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, or a helper depending on the family’s financial status.
Over the years, I have clicked many pictures of Indian Grey Hornbills(Ocyceros birostris) but had no clue about their nesting behaviour. I came home and read about the breeding habits of the Grey Hornbill. There are many yoga asanas inspired and named after animals. Postnatal care of Hornbills has the same set of rules as humans was new to me. After breeding, the female Hornbill seals herself in the hollow of a tree using droppings and chewed-up pieces of wood. A small slit is left open through which the male provides her the food of his choice or is available. Since there is no mother-in-law or sister-in-law or help of any kind the father is responsible for feeding his family. The female is held captive until the juveniles mature, which is roughly two to three months. After the juveniles mature they are taken care of, by both parents. Thankfully, in the case of human mothers, the captivity is for forty days.
I had met the Grey Hornbills for the first time a few years ago at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. A pair of Grey Hornbills was perched on a giant tree. Armed with my Telephoto lens, I was waiting for some action. Grey Hornbills are often involved in friendly bill grappling and food sharing. In Gujarati, the male Indian Grey Hornbill is called, Vahughelo(a doting husband). The action was however happening at the other end. Another pair, madly in love arrived at the scene. They were honeymooners. I could guess that because the chirpy young girl’s wrist was full of white and red bangles, usually worn by Punjabi brides. The husband quietly pointed at the pair of Grey Hornbills.
The girl screamed with excitement, “iski choch kitni badi hai(It’s beak is so big).”
Outraged by the body shaming, the Hornbills flew away. My photography was the collateral damage of the girl’s politically incorrect behaviour. The girl was rude to the bird, but she was right. Hornbills do have disproportionately large beaks, long eyelashes and prominent casques(helmet like protuberance). Their beaks are used to pick fruits, catch insects and to groom themselves. The Casques are known to add strength to the bills. Male hornbills engage in casque-butting to protect their territory. Females too have casques, though slightly smaller in size.
A few months after that, I saw a Grey Hornbill with a baby, perched on a large Eucalyptus tree outside my house. They stayed there for a while and I could click some pictures of them. That was the first time I had seen Grey Hornbills in the neighbourhood. After that, the Grey Hornbills reminded me of their presence in the neighbourhood during the Spring season every year, usually in March. Hornbills are monogamous, social creatures, and are often spotted in the wooded areas of Delhi. They are mostly in pairs, feeding each other fruits and other berries.
Hornbills tend to use the same nest year after year. They are secondary cavity nesters. The cavities are created by the primary cavity nesters like the woodpeckers. They could also be the result of the natural decay of tree trunks. Hornbills excavate the cavity further to customise it, according to their needs and size. With a large number of trees being cut regularly, it might soon be tough for them to find a new nesting place. Hornbills are called the “farmers of the forest,” because they disperse seeds and play a vital role in forest regeneration. When I see Grey Hornbills in Delhi, I wonder how many seeds must be wasted in the concrete jungle of Delhi. How long will I be able to see them in my neighbourhood? Trees and fruit-eating birds have a symbiotic relationship. Birds benefit from the nutrients in the fruits and the seeds dispersed by birds facilitate propagation of trees.
The hornbills, a symbol of healthy forests, are threatened by the cutting down of large trees. Large trees are important for Hornbills for both food and nesting. Human impacts are interfering with plant-animal relationships.
