How to save the Engineer bird- a question to the animal lovers.

Have you come across a large size bird having a colourful showy beak adorned by and equally impressive casqued or helmet. Which bird is famous as engineer bird for its skill and excellence in constructing burglar proof nest ? Female bird of which species goes in self imposed imprisonment during nesting and incubation, and actually helps in planning architecture and construction of the ‘prison’. Did you hear of the unique male bird, feeding the female and baby birds non-stop for several weeks and himself gets reduced to skeleton? Any large female bird who can fold back tail feathers over her body and remains in such uncomfortable position for weeks together. Which mother bird teaches basis hygiene and sanitation to baby birds right from nesting stage?

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Have you come across a large size bird having a colourful showy beak adorned by and equally impressive casqued or helmet. Which bird is famous as engineer bird for its skill and excellence in constructing burglar proof nest ? Female bird of which species goes in self imposed imprisonment during nesting and incubation, and actually helps in planning architecture and construction of the ‘prison’. Did you hear of the unique male bird, feeding the female and baby birds non-stop for several weeks and himself gets reduced to skeleton? Any large female bird who can fold back tail feathers over her body and remains in such uncomfortable position for weeks together. Which mother bird teaches basis hygiene and sanitation to baby birds right from nesting stage?
   
   The answer to this mind boggling bio-quiz is Hornbill, the hero of the bird’s assembly, who has developed excellence in several ways and has prominent showy bill which is both their boon and bane. I was impressed by the graceful flight of hornbill-in flight of two or three and at times even larger groups of twenties. They make friendly sound ‘whoosh’ while cutting through the air. The birds are conspicuous and are identified by their yellow pinkish bill and large heavy tail feathers to counter the weight of extra large head. I get my first introduction of hornbill in Arunachal Pradesh where I see several tribals supporting the hornbill beak on their skull caps. Many tribal villagers artistically display the beak in their houses. In some tribal clans, only the village respected elder-‘Gam Buda” can wear the bill on his cap.
2. I have seen hornbills at peace within and even despite some biotic interference in Mizoram, Meghalya, Arunachal Prqedesh. Birds of different sizes ranging from 60cm to 120cm occur in different parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Sumatra and Andaman archipelago, where they are endemic to only one island, Narcondum in North Andaman.
   
   Perhaps no other bird can match the hornbills’ ingenuity and innovation in constructing the nest and the painstaking effort put in preparing the safe nursery for baby hornbills. Once the female hornbill goes for confinement in a sizable nest hole, she gets imprisoned inside the nest hold and uses her trowel to plaster the wall from within. The male, brings some building material whatever is available while the female nicely builds the wall from inside. The wall constructed with mud, twigs, branches and female ordure gradually hardens up to brick like consistency with the female imprisoned inside for 4-5 weeks period of incubation and hatching the young ones. As a defensive measure against the raids of monkeys, tree snakes and civet cat, this device is uniquely effective. Few predators would care to face the sword like bill guarding the narrow aperture. This is is a crucial period during which the ‘free’ male maintains almost half hourly contact with the imprisoned female through the finger wide vertical slit which just enough opening for hornbill to insert its beak inside to feed the female.
3. Perhaps no other bird or animal takes so much care of its female love during confinement and post natal period as male hornbill. The female, for nesting, imprisons herself in some tree hollow or other safe crevice/cavity with just a finger wide vertical slit for breathing and receiving hourly intake of feed. The male bird, rue and affectionate to his lady love, collects delicacies of fig and other wild fruits, insects, lizards and feeds the female almost hourly, by perching himself delicately near the nest opening. He is reduced to almost skeleton while the female, due to lack of physical activity, gains weight and turns ‘fatso’.
   
   Rendezvous with nature or Andaman Yatra of any naturalist can not be complete without visiting Narcondum island- the home, habitat and heaven for Narcondum hornbill. It is Pariah kite size bird, conspicuous yellow bill with light brown casqued - somewhat pinkish at base. Male hornbill has slightly larger tail, crown and red iris with prominent eyelashes. The bird is endemic to Narcondum Island and is easily spotted by its loud and friendly call, ka—ka—ka, generally from tree tops. It takes leisurely flying exercise from one part of the island to the other.
   
   Hornbills have lovely beaks which is a boon for them to construct the nesting prison. The male collects lot of building material with the beak and also uses it as trowel while plastering and constructing the wall bit by bit. Surprising the beak is their bane too. Several birds are killed for the huge beak and the ivory content in the casqued or helmet.In some areas, hornbill fat is used to cure joint aches, rheumatism etc but the effect is only short lived. Hornbill is a unique bird with peculiar idiosyncrasies in nesting habits and are attractive and intriguing, fascinating and even amazing in many of their unique habits. It is unfair that such wonderful feathered friends are killed just for its fat oil or decorative beak.

Tips & Warnings

• This article is on a bird, which is known as hornbill and as well as engineer bird
• With out the permission of the author, it must not be copied.