Abstract
On August 8, 1980, a friend and I went to purchase some finches and canaries. When we arrived at the wholesale house there was someone ahead of us so we started looking around. We both spotted a small cage sitting on the floor behind some boxes and immediately said' 'I want them." We knelt down to observe the most interesting birds I had ever seen. Inside the cage were four black and white pied-colored birds with stiff eyelashes and long curved reddish-orange bills similar to Toucans. My heart melted. I just had to have these birds and my friend felt the same way. We were told these unusual birds were DwarfHornbills. Well this little bit of information just sealed the deal for me. I was going home with these neat little birds. Needless to say I couldn't be greedy by taking all four birds so I agreed to take one pair. How to tell a pair was our next problem. After looking closely at these birds we noticed two of them were larger in size and had black markings in their lower mandible. We each took home what we thought were a pair and hoped for the best.
When I got home my husband was as enthusiastic as I was about our new additions. After looking through all of the books I have, we learned Horn bills vary in size with the Dwarf Hornbill being only 15 inches long and the Ground Hornbill reaching a very large size. The range of the Horn bills extends through Africa south of the Sahara, but excluding Madagascar, and across tropical Asia from southern Arabia to the Solomon Islands and Philippines. These birds nest in hollow trees, sealing this hole with a masonry composed of mud and juices. Since I could find very little information on the breeding habits during my research I was determined to try and raise the Hornbills and keep records of my successes and failures.
The Hornbills were put in an outdoor flight measuring 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, 7 feet high, concrete floor, aluminum roof, and constructed from 1/2 inch welded hardware cloth with lx2 inch wooden framework. The lower 3 feet of the cage
has pressed board around it to help protect the birds from cats and dogs. The Hornbills' cage is located just outside the door leading from our Florida room to the yard. On the right of their cage are two more flights of identical size housing cockatiels and finches. The Hornbills, therefore, get a lot of attention and human traffic since we have to pass their cage twice a day to feed and water the rest of our birds.
Once the birds were established in their cage my husband constructed a nest out of a palm log measuring 36 inches high by cutting off the top fourth, hollowing out the inside to a cavity of 8 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. He then glued the log back together and drilled a round opening 10 inches from the top. We then put the log in one corner of the flight, placing the opening 40 inches from the floor. Now we could sit back and enjoy these beautiful birds and, with lots of luck, have them produce for us.
we experimented with the diet for our new birds. I made up cafeteria style plates for them daily, which consisted of mealworms, soaked Purina Cat Chow, chopped apple, banana, Dry Wayne Dog Meal, and Mynah Bird pellets adding a powdered vitamin. Since figs were supposed to be one of the Hornbill's favorite foods, I tried giving them some - soaked, fresh and otherwise - but it was no use because they would not eat them. They ate small amounts of the chopped fruit but the mealworms were quickly eaten, then followed the other food items. Also any lizard, roach or mouse who happened to pass through the Hornbills' cage became a quick meal. After observing them relishing these live foods we kept our eyes pealed for any live tidbit. The pressed board around the bottom of the flight was the perfect home for mice until the Hornbills learned of their hiding place. The Horn bills would go to the floor of the cage, start hammering at the wood until they chased a mouse out and presto - instant dinner. Since the finch flight is located near the Hornbill's cage I also fed them baby finches which had fallen out of
the nest.
After experimenting with the Hornbills' diet we came up with the following "Basic Diet" of which 1/2 was fed in the morning and the remainder in the early evenmg.
1/8 cup mealworms;
1/2 cup Wayne Dog Meal or Science Diet Canine Maintenance dog food;
1/8 cup Mynah Bird Pellets;
1 cup "Hornbill Mixture" - consisted of:
1/3 of a pound cake crumbled up (substitute 5 slices whole wheat bread)
1 fresh carrot, 1 leaf endive (substitute 2 tablespoons of mixed vegetables)
2 tablespoons of' 'Bird of Prey Meat'' (substitute Gerber's or Heinz' baby food beef, chicken, etc. or a high protein canned catfood.)
1/4 cup chopped fruits (apples, bananas, grapes, pears)
Powdered vitamin supplement
Over the next few weeks we spent as much time as possible watching the Hornbills. During the early part of November they started vocalizing and doing their courtship dance. The sound they make is similar to saying "Bach, Bach, Bach" (pronounced like the composer's name).
The male Hornbill would start making this sound, gradually increasing the tempo, and adding a double "Bach-Bach" near the end then start bouncing up and down on the perch with his wings spread. The female would answer the male's call with a shorter version of his call. After a couple of days the two birds did their calling and dancing in unison.
On November 10, 1980, the female started pecking at the opening in the palm log. She would get a beak of mud, take it to the opening, and move her bill back and forth packing the mud firmly in place. Needless to say my husband and I were beside ourselves with excitement. After five days of working on the nest the female abandoned it.
We were apprehensive about leaving our Hornbills outdoors as winter came to Florida. We covered the flight cage on three sides with plastic, the floor was covered with straw to eliminate the damp and cold. The front of the cage was left uncovered because it faces our Florida porch.
Well spring came and our Hornbills were doing fine - no ill effects from winter. Summer came and they continued to eat everything in sight. Up until this time we had seen no signs of the Horn bills courtship as we observed during last fall. Since they had worked the nest last year in the fall we decided to give them another nest box so they would have a choice. Our new nest box was constructed out of 112 inch plywood, measuring 9 inches wide, 13112 inches long, 17 1/2 inches high. The perch was located 7 inches from the bottom of the box, the 3x5 inch opening was located 3112 inches from the top. We hung this box 4 inches from the top of the flight cage in the opposite corner from the palm log. I also put fresh potting soil on the floor of their cage.
Not until early August did I notice the Horn bills taking an interest in nesting. On August 19, 1981, they started gathering up dirt located near their water dish, rolling it around in their beaks and carrying it to the plywood nest box. I started wetting the soil in the cage daily so it would be of a mud consistency. After working from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for two days on the entrance of the box the female hornbill went inside. Should we dare hope? The male then passed mud chunks to the female and she in turn plastered up the cracks on the inside of the box. The male also carried food to her during this time. On August 23, 1981, the female finished mudding up the opening on the box leaving a 5 inch high 112 inch wide slit in the shape of a lazy' 'S.''
The next day it started to rain. The rain fell for three days and I started worrying about whether it would be too damp in-
side the nest box. We checked daily, cleaning the floor of the cage and putting fresh soil and straw as needed. When I put the straw in the cage the male Hornbill decided to have a field day seeing how many pieces of straw he could carry to the female in just one day. What were they doing with all of this straw?
One day I decided to give all of our birds fresh cuttlebone and I gave the Hornbills one on the off chance they might use it. I didn't have to ask! The male immediately jumped on the cuttlebone. He started tossing it in the air and hammered it with his beak until he broke it into small pieces which he carried to the female. The male destroyed the first cuttlebone within thirty minutes and was still looking for more so I broke up two more large cuttlebones and threw them on the floor of their cage. The male again made short work of these - they disappeared inside the nest box along with the first one. Enough was enough. I'll give them more cuttlebone later. What they did with all of this cuttlebone remains a mystery. I guess the female used it to help line the inside of the nest because I saw the male eat only a few small pieces.
While the female was walled inside of the box I imagined all kinds of horrible things happening to her. But I didn't have to worry because the male came through like a knight in shining armor. Every morning at 9:00 a.m. he would get to work carrying food to his mate and pass her grapes and peas periodically to help wash down the dry foods. When the female accepted each morsel of food she would make a noise like a Dusky Lory. The male fed the female four times a day with the last meal being fed between 5: 30 and 6:00 p.m. When the male wasn't on time with his catering duty the female would peck the side of the box and if this didn't bring a response from the male, she would call to him.
While the female was in the nest I added the following foods to their Basic Diet: 118 cup soaked raisins (substitute fresh grapes);
118 cup soaked Wardley turtle food (freeze dried insects) substitute Wardley tree crab food (freeze dried ocean shrimp);
6 to 10 live fish (platies, swordtails, or small goldfish);