The internet is melting over a recent video of a Great Hornbill couple shared by IFS officer Praveen Kaswan.
The clip shows a male Hornbill passing food and feeding his female partner with the help of his beak, who has sealed herself inside a nest.
The video on Twitter has gathered thousands of views and is melting the hearts of animal lovers and nature enthusiasts.
Parveen Kaswan shared the clip and wrote, “On Father’s Day, let me share a story of this father from the forest. The Great Hornbill male is feeding the female who has locked her inside the nest. This he will do for months.”
With a series of tweets Kaswan added details about the hornbills. Calling them the “Gardner of the forest”, he wrote, “This is a story about hornbills which are a perfect couple and which are also called as Gardner of the forest. How ?”
There are 9 species of hornbills found in India, ranging from Great to Grey. “Hornbills are generally monogamous. The pair lasts long. Here a Wreathed Hornbill couple,” he added.
The hornbill couple move together, live very long, and when expecting babies, they go nest hunting.
He added, “It can be a natural cavity in a tree or nest of some other bird or their old nest.”
After a suitable house is found, the female seals herself inside the nest and stays there for a period of 3-4 months, depending on the species, the IFS officer added.
“So now the male will roam around the forest. Collect the food, store in their pouch and bring it to the family. As the kids grow, he has to increase the frequency of the trips. This is his daily job, many times a day,” he added.
During the process, the male Hornbill “tries to stay close to the family. For protection. Also during this time, he has to feed himself and stay alive.”
He further added, “Not all fruits are delivered, some simply get dropped on the floor while the exchange takes place. They swallow the fruits as a whole and in this process, the seeds are taken to long distances. If the male doesn’t come or gets poached the family dies waiting inside the nest.”
Kaswan said that all pictures and videos were taken by him and it took him quite some time for the collection and documentation.
The video has warmed many hearts and now has more than 50k views.
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