4 posts tagged “hornbills”

Crowned hornbill

How many languages do you speak? It turns out that yellow-casqued hornbills (not pictured) in West Africa have learned to speak Diana Monkey. Researchers at St. Andrews University in Scotland observed the two species when predators were nearby.

Diana monkeys would give out alarm calls to each other when leopards (not a predator of hornbills) were nearby. The hornbills did not react. But when the monkeys gave a different call, signaling that a crowned eagle (will eat hornbills) was nearby, the hornbills began warning each other. The researchers think that the birds have learned what the monkeys' various calls mean.

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The study was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences. Here's the abstract, and here is a New York Times article explaining how the researchers discovered and tested this phenomenon. This is the first time birds have been witnessed recognizing the communications of mammals. Hornbills can live to be 20 years and researchers think that their long life gives them a cognitive advantage.

I think that pretty soon the term "bird brains" will be a compliment!

Pink

Hi Voxters! So in this semester of grad school, I've decided to focus on 2 things: My research, and staying warm. I have a meditation for the second goal and I thought I'd share it with you:

Hot lava. Tomato soup. Torches in Arizona. Crimson tabbys sleeping next to a fireplace. Rose hooded jackets with fleece lining. Red Zinger tea. Fleece pajamas. Molten desserts and volcanoes in Hawaii. Thanks for listening.

I won't ramble on about my chimney swift thesis, but I am beginning a new venture: finding my research "niche". I'm making lists of my interests and trying to find a common theme. I have 2 methods to my madness: one is obsessive journaling. I have journals in my courierware bag, my car, everywhere.

Hornbill

The other is a bit more ambitious: I'm thinking of getting a bird-banding license. I was against the idea for a long time but I think I've had a change of heart. More on that later. Here is what I've got so far (keep in mind I just started this list like, 3 days ago):

** Arboreal bird families (such as hornbills and woodpeckers). And their fame on cereal boxes.

** Use of dead snags and hollow logs for denning / nesting

** Swansea muck ecosystems (more detail later, but you've gotta love that term)

** Ecology of semi-human habitat (such as spiders and birds nesting in barns or grassland birds).

Thoughts are welcomed - stay warm and again, Happy Imbolc!

Anthracoceros albirostris

There are some new condos on Singapore's mainland. I hear they're very exclusive - only oriental pied hornbills are invited! That's right, researchers from the Singapore Hornbill Project have built some high-tech bird boxes for these gentle creatures.

Hornbills are very picky about their homes; they are strictly arboreal, prefer to be high off the ground and will only use dead snags for nesting. They return year after year to the same nest site; some become so attached to their homes that they will return to a site even after it has been deforested.

Hornbills are large birds found in Africa and Asia. Their bills are so big and heavy that 2 of their cervical vertebrae are fused together for extra support. The "casque" on their bill is the subject of much speculation, but scientists think it is used for attracting mates, fighting and possibly to amplify their calls.

With the help of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore researchers created "intelligent nests" for the birds. They are designed strictly for this species. The nests are tall and are set 2 to 4 km apart to avoid territorial fighting. They also house scales, humidity sensors and a security system.

The birds really seem to like their new arrangements; the resident population of hornbills has doubled since the project began in 2004.

Hornbill4-800

Here is a small Solstice gift to you all. It's not much but I am introducing you guys to the Internet Bird Collection. Our Ornithology professor showed this website to us the other day. I swear, you cannot possibly be sad when you watch these videos!

The trick is to click on this IBC link. It will automatically begin a video of some bird you've probably never seen before. Then hit the back button and then the forward button - and a new video will load each time. Hours of fun!!

You may get to see a helmeted hornbill from Bala Hala national park in Kenya, or a gang gang cockatoo from Victoria, Australia. The gray-breasted mountain toucan of Brazil. Or the highly endangered red-billed curassow from the Linhares Biological Preserve in Brazil.

If you don't like the bird you see, just click your back button and try again. There are so many incredible, funny, cool birds that will cheer you up, guaranteed.The least pygmy owl of Brazil looks just like that owl that was on Mister Roger's Land of Make-Believe. The helmeted hornbill is my favorite though.

Happy Solstice, early.