Hornbills fascinate me.
In the forest, I get enthusiastic when I see them flocks together in the sky.
And just recently I learned a little bit more about hornbill habitat.
You see,
in the forest, the hornbills always fly at least in a pair: one male and another
female. It's rarely you see a hornbill flying alone, except when the male goes
out and hunt for food. And this only happens after the mating session. After
the mating session, the whole body of the female feather will fall off and the
female will use these feathers to make a nest. And yes, her feathers will grow
back, but it takes time. So, if you see a hornbill flies alone or the flock of
hornbills is uneven numbers, you will now know why.
And from the expert that
studied hornbills more than 30 years, Dr. Pilai Poonswad of Mahidol University
and the Hornbill Research Foundation (HRF), the male hornbill is never a
playboy (I can’t think of any other word that this).
Because, because,
because the male hornbill cannot leave his wife and her nest: if not she and
the baby birds will die of hunger! Haha, she said so. Based on her research. 30
years of study. Don’t play play.
Most interestingly,
after the mother has lay the eggs out, say for example there is 5 [A, B, C, D, E]
babies, based on Dr. Pilai observations, there is always one baby left behind
with the parents to look the next generation of babies! It could be A or B or C
or D or E, but one will stay back to look after the new baby birds or his/her siblings!
