The Harbinger Of Death ! Not Really - Southern Ground Hornbill

Masai Mara National Reserve

Hornbills have a tendency of surprising me but maybe I have a tendency of not preparing for them. From the first close encounter with the Homrai, to the latest adventure with their Strange Ways at The Kingdom of The Great Hornbill, I wasn’t expecting these guys at all. All of it has been discovery by chance. Well, the same was the case in Masai Mara where I didn’t expect a run in with a Hornbill at all. Mara had quite a few lovely surprises for me and among them the Southern Ground Hornbill was a definite rare oddity. We saw just the one in our trips into the Savannah and here he is.

You get no points for guessing if I was surprised to see him. Who wouldn’t be? I was looking at a Hornbill strutting about on the ground like an Ibis with red around the eyes that went down to the neck which had a sack and he was huge, huge and oddly shaped. Yeah, there’s nothing else like them alright. David, our guide and driver was quick to tell us that these guys are the largest among the Hornbills and that they were also among 2 kinds of ground dwelling Hornbills, both of which are found in Africa. Doesn’t mean they can’t fly. They just choose to hang low while their Indian cousins like my friend the Homrai, hang high. Talk about what change in eco systems can lead to evolution wise.

Oh there’s more ways in which that they’re different from the Hornbills at home. These guys are obligate cooperative breeders with each pair being assisted by at least two different birds in the upbringing of the young. Experiments in captivity have shown that unless one of these guys assists as helpers at the nest for six years, they are unable to breed successfully themselves. Unaided pairs cannot rear young ones and social living is a must. Bringing up kids is always interesting for Hornbills huh ? ( Ref : Strange Ways Of The Great Hornbill )

Photographing these guys was way easier than Great Hornbills cause well, they’re ground dwellers. There’s no chasing them around. Well, there’s no trees to chase them around from branch to branch in the savannah either. Maybe that’s why they’re ground dwellers there after all. Only issue with ground feeding birds of the savannah is that they’re not focused on nor care about safari vehicles at all. They’re not alarmed by them and don’t give the vehicles second thought. Catching the eye or predicting how the bird will move wasn’t a trick that I could master on my first trip. I know more now and hopefully will fare a lot better when I get my next chance at em.

Like their Indian cousins, these guys come with Lore and a lot of it. They’re black and red coloured. What do you expect? People in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi have associated these poor birds with death, destruction, loss and deprivation over centuries. Others in Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi have deemed them unlucky and associated them to death and evil. Some in Tanzania believe that they harbor evil spirits. Medieval and ancient Humans across continents just didn’t like Goth colours did they? Well, what it led to is the persecution of the poor birds cause by blind faith and negative lore. Poor guys have been persecuted for centuries and are a vulnerable species as a result. Body parts of the Southern Ground Hornbill have been used in so called traditional medicine in Africa for a while and this just adds to the peril of the poor birds. They’re the bringers of death and destruction after all and their parts must be magic cures right? It’s like how the owl’s parts have been used in bogus medicine in India as superstition cures for anything and everything. ( Ref : The Fascination & Peril Of Owls In India ) It’s so sad really.

If you ask me, The Southern Ground Hornbill’s red and black look is super cool and it totally sets it apart. As do the bits about it that made it look a little odd to me initially. It’s a very unique character that’s just been misunderstood and used by profiteers who have exploited superstition to get rich. Sadly, it’s a common story from around the world. These poor guys don’t bring any death and destruction; rather they’re the victims of it caused by our kind. Here’s to hoping that we can evolve beyond the need for persecuting difference someday perhaps for all of our sake.