Breeding
During incubation, the female lays two or three white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.
When the chicks and the female are too big to fit in the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, then both parents feed the chicks.
Captive breeding can be achieved by providing a small barrel or hollow tree with an entrance hole that is 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The birds will mud the hole shut once the hen is ready.
Read more about this topic: Von Der Decken's Hornbill
Famous quotes containing the word breeding:
“A mans own good breeding is his best security against other peoples ill-manners.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (16941773)
“The breeding we give young people is ordinarily but an additional self-love, by which we make them have a better opinion of themselves.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (16131680)
“Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.”
—Lillian Hellman (19051984)