This is a female rufous-necked hornbill (Aceros nipalensis), resting amidst the fresh leaves of spring.
She has seen many springs and knows well what it brings, were to get the best food, where the best nesting holes are, as well as what she likes in a male. She is a living record of many encounters, and will share them with her offspring which in turn will bring it to the next.
For every grow-cycle of a tree, the tree has expanded and produced another ring around the core. These growth rings are a record of age.
I’ve not found confirmation on this, but I was told that each bar (bright and dark) on the beak is one year’s growth, and is thus a record of her age. As a chick it has no dark bar, only the bright colored bill. As it matures the first dark bar emerges. The nest year the bill will have grown a bit more and with it another dark bar, and so on.
Thus we can from the number of dark and bright bars assume this female is at around 17 years of age, which is quite amazing if this a correct understanding of the bars. If only the dark bars are usable as record of one year, she is 9 years old (as the dark bar closest to her head is just forming from the edge of the beak)!
I assume this is a wise lady with no hurries in life, only certainties of what is and what is not of interest and importance, and where and how to get it.
It sounds like this:
Elevation: 2054 meters
Last updated on 8 November 2024
