In the world of birds

A hornbill is a strange looking bird with a horn over its bill, hence the name. It is recognised by the shape of its bill which looks heavy...

A hornbill is a strange looking bird with a horn over its bill, hence the name. It is recognised by the shape of its bill which looks heavy. It is actually hollow and spongy from within.

Ten of the many species of hornbills are found in the Indian sub-continent. Hornbills generally prefer heavily forested areas, except the smallest the Indian Grey Hornbill which is also found in open areas. The plumage varies from dull greyish brown to yellow, white and black. They are generally fruit eaters but they also eat insects, reptiles and small mammals. The breeding season is mostly between February and April. A natural hollow in a tree is used as the nest site. The female hornbill enters the hole and plasters up the entrance with her own excreta mixed with mud and wood bark, leaving only a narrow opening through which the male feeds her throughout her `confinement’. The female lays one to four eggs at a time, hatches them and comes out of the nest. After this, the opening is sealed. From the narrow opening, this time both parents feed the chicks till they grow big enough to break the plaster and emerge. This handsome bird, which is the logo of BNHS and after which the office building is named, is unfortunately becoming rare. The nesting sites are lost because of the clearing of forests. This compels the bird to move to more greener areas. The Grey Hornbill is found in Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park. In Pune too, one can often see them in the well-wooded city parks on tree tops.

The Dodo story

Most of us know that the Dodo once lived on the island of Mauritius. This large, flightless, gentle dove became extinct in 1680. Would you like to know how this magnificent bird became extinct? Here’s how: Before the Portuguese, Mauritius was an unexplored island. It was full of birds, which took maximum advantage of the available food resources. The absence of predators enabled them to evolve into many unique, strange and colourful species like the Dodo.

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When the European ships arrived, this unique collection of birds provided the sailors with easy food and sport. The birds had no experience of predators and would therefore often walk right up to the their hunters.The Dodo survived despite the slaughter of wildlife that hundreds of European sailors indulged in. But in 1644, the Dodo’s fate was sealed, when the island became a Dutch colony. Strangely, Dodo became extinct not because it was hunted a lot its flesh was tough and bitter. It wasn’t exploited as a game bird either, because being a flightless bird, hunting them was not pleasurable at all. What really affected the survival of the Dodo was the introduction of animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys and even rats in Mauritius, by the Dutch. Dogs killed the adult birds, while cats, rats, monkeys and pigs attacked both eggs and the young ones. By 1680, the island was completely overrun by the men and animals and that unique creature called the Dodo, was gone forever. What remains with us now is the only artistic impression of the magnificent bird.

It is interesting to know that Dodo shared a mysterious relationship with a tree whose fruits it relished. This tree, known as the Dodo Tree, is endemic to Mauritius. Though these trees were common in the earlier times, there was no record of any new tree growing after the extinction of Dodo. There are just 13 trees at the moment , which are 300 to 400 years old. The fruits produce seeds, yet not a single sapling was ever produced.Dr Stanley Temple in 1973, resolved this puzzle and showed that the seeds of the Dodo Tree could only germinate when they were eaten by a Dodo. In the powerful gizzard of the bird, the crushing of the seed covering used to take place which was very important for the germination of the seeds.Mauritius had no Dodos to ingest these seeds to save the Dodo Tree from extinction. Dr Temple, therefore, tried to force-feed the fruit to some turkeys and managed to germinate three seeds nearly after 300 years of Dodos’ extinction.

From the above story it is evident that when extinction in nature takes place, it is not the extinction of just one particular species but the extinction of all other species which are linked to it. And that is what the Web Of Life is all about.

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