Female hornbill – prisoner of a wooden castle (5 photos + 1 video)

It seems that hiding a young and beautiful wife is the mentality of exclusively older and jealous husbands. And people, of course. But in wildlife there is an interesting example of how the kalao, better known as the hornbill, hides its mate in an airtight space. Almost like Rapunzel in the castle.





Hornbills are inhabitants of Africa, Southeast Asia and some ocean islands. Outwardly they resemble the result of the wild imagination of a cheerful artist. After a period of courtship, they begin to demonstrate strange behavior.



First you need to find a suitable hollow. They don’t make the hollows themselves – it’s not a royal business. Look for natural shelters. After a night of love, the female remains in the love nest, and the male begins to methodically seal his beloved inside, using clay as a building material. An adhesive composition is also used, including leftover food, feathers and droppings.





There is only a small hole left in the improvised damper for air to pass through and the beak to squeeze through. While the winged mother incubates the clutch, which rarely contains more than a couple of eggs, the chosen one carries his favorite food, pushing it into the hole. Then the load increases, because the chicks also need to be fed.



But what can you not do in the name of family? Dad tirelessly cuts several tens of kilometers a day to get goodies and health benefits for the family. And the female at this time removes the results of vital activity through a tiny hole. Hygiene must be monitored, but cleaning is understandably a problem.



This method of voluntary immuring, taking into account a small number of eggs and chicks, is effective in terms of protection from natural predators and allows the preservation of offspring. The young live with their parents for up to six months, until they learn to get food on their own. After which he departs for a free flight. In search of a suitable hollow. And the story of voluntary immuring is repeated again, like almost everything in this world.