आपकी नजरों नें समझा प्यार के काबिल मुझे ,दिल की ऐ धड़कन ठहर जा, मिल गयी मंजिल मुझे

Grey Hornbill ( Most devoted husband in Avian world ) with Lizard in beak
 IMG-20170718-WA0002
They are mostly arboreal and come to the ground:-
(1) To pick up fallen fruits from their beak  or
(2) To pick up mud pellets during the breeding season for sealing the cavity after the female has entered the cavity or
(3) For hunting of insects ,birds or reptiles such as garden lizard or small snakes .
Their presence in an area are indicators of large and long trees having hollow cavities.
Frankly speaking it is not a beautiful bird but has the most unique behavior and characterstic which birders know. The male is the most devoted husband who feeds the female while she is inside the cavity for more than 2 months .
At the end of the breeding season when female is about to come out of the cavity to supplement her diet I have observed male feeding the female garden lizard a number of times .
At this time of the year breeding season for this specie in Delhi is coming to an end as the females are already out of the cavities and even some of the chicks are out and the weakest are still to come out from their nesting cavities.
This was shot on 4th June 2015 in Delhi.
The way I have been covering this bird for more than 4 years this specie appears to communicate with me and I remember a very lovely song from the old film ANPADH ….आपकी नजरों नें समझा प्यार के काबिल मुझे ,दिल की ऐ धड़कन ठहर जा, मिल गयी मंजिल मुझे

About the Author

A retired civil servant by profession but a True wildlifer at Heart . Sh Vinod Goel started his journey from the tender age of 11 years, he left his home and parents for schooling in a hostel. Later on as a Civil Servant his job took him to various parts of the country of India. His very first visit to Kanha National Park in Central India in April 2004 ignited the passion for wildlife and has not digressed from that.

During the last 13 years he had been to more than 50 to 60 National parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Initially he visited the wildlife sanctuaries in the States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. He had been to all the National Parks of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal. Out of 50 tiger reserves in the country he has been to more than 20 tiger reserves and photographed tigers in 12 of them. Apart from tigers he has captured unbelievable moments in the wild.

Sh Vinod Goel is widely known in the wildlife community   and his work has been acclaimed globally. In his free time he can be seen capturing the unusual moments of denizens of the wild in various parks and sanctuaries of India. His daughter Nitya Goel Aggarwal and son Bharat Goel are with him in his mission.

You can also visit his page on facebook

https://www.facebook.com/wildlifephotographyindia/