Grey Hornbill as seen in Rashtrapati Bhavan- The President's estate.
In June 2013, a pair of Indian Grey Hornbills was found to be nesting along the Nature Trail within the Rashtrapati Bhavan. While seeing hornbills in Delhi is not a rare occurrence, seeing a nesting pair is indeed good news as it is not a frequent occurrence! This particular hornbill nest was on a Neem tree and rather unusual in that the nest cavity is almost facing upwards to the sky. The birds were nesting late in the summer season and the rains had started by the time the chicks had hatched. The chicks inside must have been inundated by the first few showers of the monsoons!
Another anomaly is that four Hornbills were seen visiting this nest to feed the chicks. We had no idea that Hornbills had a community practice of bringing up chicks.... Can anyone explain this behaviour?
Also, a Common Myna has been seen frequently visiting the nest-hole. Was it trying to stake out its previous territory, scavenging for leftovers or what? Was it actually feeding the chicks?
In one shot, the Hornbill was feeding the chicks with what appeared to be a small stem. Can anyone explain this behaviour?
This New Delhi nesting pair of hornbills does not cease to amaze us!
Rare nesting pair of Grey Hornbill in heart of Delhi city.
The Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. They have grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The horn is black or dark grey with a casque extending up to the point of curvature in the horn. They are one of the few hornbill species found within urban areas in many cities where they are able to make use of large avenue trees.
This rare footage of a Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris) nesting with the grounds of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, goes to show that despite being in a bustling city, given the right habitat and nesting conditions (old trees with suitable nest-holes), a bird such as the Indian Grey Hornbill will afford us the rich sight of urban nidification!
The finely forested grounds, and parkland of the Indian President's Estate at Rashtrapati Bhavan affords this bird just the right habitat, feed and cover - a rare oasis in a bustling and burgeoning city...
Known as lamdour, dhanesh or chalotra in India, the Hornbill is a shy and retiring bird that loves the cover of tall trees. The hornbill is somehow symbolic of wild country and well preserved forests!
The Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. They have grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The horn is black or dark grey with a casque extending up to the point of curvature in the horn. They are one of the few hornbill species found within urban areas in many cities where they are able to make use of large avenue trees.
Source - Wikipedia
The Indian Grey Hornbill is a medium-sized hornbill, measuring around 61 cm (24 in) in length. The upperparts are greyish brown and there is a slight trace of a pale supercilium. The ear coverts are darker. The flight feathers of the wing are dark brown and whitish tipped. The tail has a white tip and a dark subterminal band. They have a red iris and the eyelids have eyelashes. The casque is short and pointed. The male has a larger casque on a dark bill while the culmen and lower mandible are yellowish. The bare skin around the eye is dark in the male while it is sometimes pale reddish in females. The female has a more yellowish bill with black on the basal half and on the casque. The juveniles lack the casque and the bare skin around the eye is dull orange.
Source: Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.
