This is bird note.

Does staying cooped up inside with your kids drive you up the wall?

Take comfort in the bird that does it year after year.

The hornbill.

Each breeding season, a female hornbill imprisons herself in a tree cavity and takes on the task of raising her young.

In the days leading up to her nest arrest, the female starts blocking the entrance to her nest with a plaster of mud, bark, and poop.

Once the entrance becomes so small that she can barely squeeze through it,

the female slips inside and fills the gap,

except for a thin slot for ventilation and food.

She stays in there for months, incubating her eggs and raising the chicks.

While she's busy at that, the male brings fresh fruits

and a variety of animal protein.

At last, when the nest becomes just too cramped, the female escapes the nest and frees herself.

The young either follow her out or reseal the entrance and remain in the nest until they're ready to fludge.

Most of the 61 hornbill species in the world exhibit these strange behaviors.

Locking Down provides nesting hornbills some protection from predators,

and wards off other hornbill pairs looking for a place to nest.

For bird note, I'm Mary McCann.

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