A hollow tree trunk with a closed access cavity and only a small slot connecting its beaks to the outside – this is the home of the female hornbill for the entire nesting period, which can last up to four months. In this small space, just a few centimetres wide, the eggs are laid and incubated, the chicks hatch and grow early during their first months of life. She and the chicks remain safe from outside threats and survive thanks to the food their father delivers to them through a narrow slot, carefully left during nest building. Mother and chicks depend on it. If the father dies or is hunted, so do they.
This is the curious nesting of hornbills. A process that, for their conservation, is a challenge to replicate and, most importantly, to bring to a successful conclusion. And that is what the Veterinary and Zoology teams at Bioparc Fuengirola have achieved with flying colours. Once again, a pair of hornbills has successfully completed their courtship, copulation and incubation at the park. On this occasion, the pair of black-throated hornbills that it houses have become parents of two beautiful chicks.
Although both were born in the last week of June, it was not until now that the mother decided to go outside, breaking open the nest cavity with her beak and with the help of the chicks. Finally, all together in the same space. From the first moment, the contact between parents and chicks was good and so were the reactions between them.
The team of caretakers, far from being calm with the chicks out of the nest, must now be even more vigilant against possible aggressions between them, which are frequent in this species and in this period. For this reason, surveillance of the family has been intensified, first through the video surveillance camera installed on the roof of the nest, and now directly from the same vantage point as the public visiting the park. Visitors will be able to observe this colourful family and see how the relationship between them evolves.
A preliminary courtship full of peculiarities
Female hornbills are very selective. Stimulation by the male is essential for her to ovulate, allow mating and lay fertilized eggs. The courtship begins with a game of flapping and a rapprochement between them. During the days that it lasts
During this process, the male flirts with the female, plays with her and gives her small 'gifts' in the form of food. Once the female accepts the male, they will mate. Ultimately, the male has to convince the female that he is the right one.
In the event that there is finally a laying, The life of the female and her chicks will depend entirely on him. He will be responsible for feeding and protecting the female and the chicks. If everything has been successful, the female will take refuge in a tree cavity to begin laying eggs. This space is sealed by both parents to protect the nest from potential predators.
This particular process and past failures have led the team to make improvements both to the meeting of these hornbills and to their facilities, but also The success achieved last year with the birth of two Visayan hornbill chicks has allowed them to perfect all the necessary care.
One of the key points for the care of these birds is their feeding, since their diet must be strictly controlled with foods with low iron content., since an excess could cause serious illnesses due to the accumulation of this compound in their livers. The diet of these incredible birds consists mainly of fruits, but always carefully selected with a low iron content or with reduced amounts of vitamin C, a substance that promotes the absorption of iron in the digestive tract.
Four different conservation programs dedicated to hornbills
In 2018, Bioparc Fuengirola expanded the number of 'ex situ' conservation programmes in which it participated within the EAZA, with three EEPs dedicated to the preservation and protection of three species of hornbills: the great hornbill, the Papuan hornbill and the black-throated hornbill. These were joined by the Visayan hornbill. With these four conservation programmes and the births of the Visayan and black-throated hornbills, The Malaga animal park is the most active in Spain in the conservation of these exotic birds, hosting four of the sixteen species described today, all of them threatened.
Habitat loss and human activity are the main threats to the black-throated hornbill
The black-throated hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus), is one of the most characteristic species of the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. As members of the exotic hornbill family, these birds are charismatic, colourful, highly recognisable – and threatened by poaching.
Hornbills are threatened by habitat destruction. The clearing of large areas of rainforest has reduced the forests on which these birds depend for reproduction and for food and shelter. The most recent studies carried out by the IUCN classify this species as 'vulnerable'. Its population is in decline and as this institution assures; if this continues, This could be reduced by up to 50 percent in about fifty years.
