Question

Hollow of the hornbills nest was in the a tree

Answer 1

Answer:

Hornbill Nests

• All but two species of hornbills nest in tree cavities or rock crevasses that are sealed shut except for a narrow, vertical slit. In places were there are shortages of tree cavities hornbills often fight among themselves and evict other birds or even snakes or large monitor lizards to gain access to a cavity.
• The female is sealed inside. The slit is about a half inch wide: wide enough to pass food through but narrow enough to seal out potential predators such monkeys raptors and other predators that feed on eggs and young birds. If a snake tries to slither the female inside can fight it off with her bill. The sealed nests also act as a chastity belt.
• Most nests are built in tree hollows. A typical one began as a hole pecked by a woodpecker that is enlarged by fungus. Later a bee colony moves in and the hole becomes larger after a bear scrapes it with his claws to gets honey from the bee's nest.
• David Attenborough wrote in The Life of Birds, "The female hornbill is very fussy about the nesting accommodation. To suit her, a tree hole has to be reasonably spacious. It must also have a chimney at the top that will serve as a bolt hole if attacked. Once she has selected it, she invariably improves it by plastering over any crevices or smaller holes. The material she uses varies according to her species."
• After the females has made herself comfortable in a good nesting site the male brings lumps of soil moistened with his saliva and sometimes augmented with droppings, chewed wood and bark and other detritus. Together they build a wall of mud: he from the outside and she from the inside. The soil is applied with the side of the mouth. Among some species, the male swallows mud and regurgitates it in little balls to the female.
• First subsidiary entrances are sealed, then the main one is changed into a slit. Much of the work is done by the female. While she is doing this the male brings her food as well as more material for the plastering. Once the wall is complete the female is trapped inside the nest with only a small hole to outside through which to get food and communicate.