Birdlife in our village (4)

As indicated previously, during the next few months this blog will post information about the birdlife in our village. The text and photographs are supplied by one of our residents, Philip van den Berg (U34), who is an acclaimed environmentalist and wildlife photographer, provided the text and photographs.

This month we feature Hornbills (Afr. Neushoringvoëls)

PHILIP VAN DEN BERG writes: Hornbills are typical Bushveld birds. They are medium to large in size and all have huge decurved bills that are often brightly coloured.

Three species of hornbills occur in our area, i.e. Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Afr. Rooibekneushoringvoël), Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Afr. Geelbekneushoringvoël) and African Grey Hornbill (Afr. Grysneushoringvoël). Of these the African Grey Hornbills regularly visit our village. They are quite regular sightings when certain trees are fruiting. For a couple of weeks they often visit to feed on the fruit of Natal Mahogany.

Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Afr. Rooibekneushoringvoël)

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Afr. Geelbekneushoringvoël)

 African Grey Hornbill (Afr. Grysneushoringvoël)

Hornbills have extraordinary breeding habits. They use holes in trees and the entrances are sealed with dung and mud leaving a narrow slit.

Hornibill nest

What is most interesting, however, is that the female remains inside and she then proceeds to seal herself in with excrement and mud provided by the male. She gets the undivided attention of the male that keeps on feeding her. She lays eggs, drops her feathers and becomes very fat. Once the eggs hatch, she stops eating and during this period she utilizes the reserve fat stored in her body and starts growing feathers again. The chicks get all the food provided by the male. When the female is of normal size again and has grown feathers, she breaks out of the nest. The chicks in the nest then start to close the opening again from the inside using their own droppings. Both parents are then available to feed the growing chicks. When the chicks are nearly fully grown, they break the entrance open and leave the nest.

The large Southern Ground Hornbill does not occur in our village and its breeding habits are not the same.

A Southern Ground Hornbill (Afr. Bromvoël)