remarkable behaviour
- By Vikram Nanjappa

Further to my write up on bird watching, it would be interesting to touch upon some remarkable habits of a few birds found in the Kabini area.

Once the courtship process ends and the birds pair off for breeding, the female hornbill finds a natural hollow in a tree, enters it and proceeds to seal herself in. She uses her droppings mixed with mud, which is usually brought by the male and then uses the flat side of her bill as a trowel. She takes care to leave a narrow slit in the wall to enable the male to pass food to her. The entire process takes about two or three days. In addition, the resultant wall is strong enough to protect her from predators. The female remains in the hollow until the chicks are hatched and are about two weeks old. There are usually two to three chicks. The female then frees herself but rebuilds the walls and the chicks remain in the hollow until they are old enough to be let out to fend for themselves.

The male, the provider is usually reduced to a skeleton. The female on the other hand puts on weight and becomes quite plump. Once she frees herself, she along with the male fetches food for the chicks until they are old enough. While this is the general pattern, there are a few variations amongst the other types of hornbills.

Among the buttonquails, the roles of the sexes are reversed. The female is the larger and brighter coloured bird and it is she who takes the initiative in courtship. She even engages in furious fights with rivals to secure her mate. Once secured and the resultant eggs are laid she leaves the male and goes off in search of another! The male is left to incubate and raise the chicks to adulthood. Which, he does rather well. In this manner, the female lays several clutches of eggs in a single season. The jacanas are another of our residents who are similarly polyandrous.

The baya – weaver is a polygamist with a unique method of his own. He usually arrives at the breeding site in the company of other males much before the females and begins work on a bell shaped nest. The nests are built close to each other and the colony is a hive of activity with frenzied building activity and numerous squabbles. The moment the females arrive, they inspect every nest before choosing one that takes their fancy. Once the wife is secured and the eggs are laid, the males leave to start work on another nest. In this way, he acquires three to four wives.