Have You Ever Seen Hornbills Mating?

I was strolling along Main Bazaar in Kuching on October 9 when I saw a pair of pigeons mating.

A pair of pigeons mating in Main Bazaar Kuching

Back in Miri, I made a trip to Taman Selera on October 13 and I came across a pair of grasshoppers mating.

A pair of grasshoppers mating at Taman Selera Miri

I made an hour stopover at Piasau Nature Reserve yesterday hoping to photograph hornbills. Initially I thought I was not in luck as I did not see any hornbills. But boy! How things turned out in the end!

I first saw a male hornbill which I think was Jimmy. Then a female hornbill joined him and I am pretty sure it must be Juliet if the male was Jimmy. They were so lovey-dovey. And then much to my surprise, they started mating. . After their mating, they flew to their nest. Juliet entered the nest while Jimmy stood guard outside the nest. When I approached too near, Jimmy would make a loud sound! It was amazing watching them.

Jimmy mating Juliet

See the expression of Juliet

Juliet telling Jimmy her feelings?

Such a loving couple

Aren’t they sweet?

Mission accomplished

Jimmy & Juliet fly to their nest

Juliet entering the nest

Juliet looking out from the nest

Do you know that a month or more before mating, the male hornbill begins courting the female by bringing her food? When ready to lay her eggs, the female will enter a nest hole in a hollow tree. The pair will then spend two or three days plastering up the hole with the female’s clay-like droppings — she on the inside, he on the outside — using the sides of their bills as trowels.

The female will remain enclosed for three months as the male delivers food to her and then to the chicks through a small finger hole. She will go through a complete change of her flight feathers while hidden in the nest. Once the nestlings are born, she will break out of the nest and join her mate in provisioning food for their young.

Hornbills appear to pair for life. They are banding together to defend a territory against other members of their species. This helps to ensure adequate food supply as well as “exclusive rights” to nesting sites.