Bucerotidae
hornbill
Birds
Incubation 35 to 40 days.
1 or 2 eggs.
Mainly fruit, although they can also hunt snakes, lizards, small rodents and insects.
From 30 to 35 years old
The black-throated hornbill presents a very marked sexual dimorphism, with females being black with a blue throat, while males show black, brown and white plumage. However, the male's throat is yellow, with a characteristic elongated black mark.
Like other species of hornbills, they have a peculiar way of breeding. They look for holes in the trees where the female enters to lay her eggs. Meanwhile, the male closes the hole with a mixture of mud and plant material, so that the female is trapped with the chicks. During this period, the female and chicks are totally dependent on the male for food, not breaking the wall until the chicks are ready to fly.
Recent studies have demonstrated the important role of hornbills in the dispersal of seeds of numerous fruit trees, as they release the ingested seeds through their depositions, thus contributing to the regeneration of forests.
