Malabar Pied Hornbill

On top of arecanut tree, tough to shoot photographs :(

Of all the birds I am listing out here, I think Hornbills are the most special - they are very hard to catch sight of if you are not at the right place, and you need a lot of luck. We can see Malabar Pied Hornbills around villages of Shimoga. Even though they are not rare in my village, I have only seen them in the early mornings - six to six-thirty usually, in the middle of arecanut plantations.  If you are walking through a heavily wooded area, and you hear loud noises like somebody washing their clothes on a stone, take another look - Hornbills make that kind of a noise when flying with their immense wings. Also, their shout is like a loud laughter.

But the most significant feature of these birds  - most useful for identification - is their bill. Bills are much bigger than the birds' head, yellow-and-black in colour, horn-shaped and has a pointed casque on top. God only knows why these bills are designed like this!!! They feed mainly on fruits, and are natural dwellers of wooded country with Banyan or Peepal trees.

Before moving away from these very special birds, I have to tell the strange, romantic and sometimes tragic story of the nesting habits of hornbills, even though I have never seen a nest. Male and Female birds select a wooden hollow, and when the female is ready lay the eggs, it holes itself inside. The male walls up the hollow, leaving a small slit through which it feeds the female throughout the period. Once the eggs are hatched, the male breaks the egg and releases the female bird. Of course, the female is able to break out - but its feathers fall off during the period, so it can't fly even if it comes out. Most often, if the male bird dies during this period, the whole family dies.

Scientific name for the Malabar Pied Hornbill is Anthracoceros Coronatus.