New Delhi: At dawn in Lodhi Garden, birders and walkers have found themselves following an avian story for over 10 days with all the ingredients of a soap opera. At the centre of the ongoing spectacle is an unlikely cast: an adult female oriental pied hornbill, a pair of resident Indian grey hornbills and at least two chicks sealed inside a tree cavity.The oriental pied hornbill has been visiting the nest daily with tempting food offerings, attempting to feed her grey hornbill family that is not her own. For now, nobody knows exactly why she is feeding a neighbouring species’ family. The common theory among observers is that the oriental pied hornbill is acting out of a misdirected maternal instinct. Since the species is native to the moist forests of the Terai and Himalayan foothills, there are only one or two isolated females known to be in Delhi and widely believed to be escapees from captivity. There is also no male of her own kind present for her to mate with.TOI had reported on March 20 that while the Indian grey hornbill remains a familiar resident in the city, its larger cousin is being spotted with increasing frequency in Delhi’s green pockets.The unusual interaction between the two hornbill species was first noticed on May 12. Birder Anuradha Mathur photographed the oriental pied hornbill visiting the nest. “I initially assumed that the pied was feeding its own nest, but then I noticed that the bird was a female and nesting females are usually tucked inside the tree cavity with their chicks during this period. The presence of grey hornbills nearby made it confusing,” said Mathur, who shared her observations with the Delhi bird community.From the next day onwards, birders stationed near the ageing silk cotton (semul) tree watched the oriental pied hornbill arrive at the nest cavity and attempt to pass food through the narrow slit of the entrance. Observers noted that she would aggressively try to chase away the rightful father grey hornbill in her pursuit to feed the family inside.The sequence repeated for several days but the story took a darker turn on May 16 and 17 when the pied returned carrying heavy prey: a freshly killed adult jungle babbler. She repeatedly attempted to push the prey into the narrow nest opening from different angles, but it was rejected by the female tucked inside. On May 18, the pied hornbill tried to offer an egg, likely plundered from a nearby pigeon’s nest, which was similarly declined.Meanwhile, the male grey hornbill remained consistent: arriving at regular intervals with leaves and berries, feeding his female through the slit before departing to forage again. However, the plot shifted on May 21 when berries offered by the persistent pied hornbill were finally accepted four times by the nesting female. The male grey hornbill arrived shortly afterwards and continued feeding as normal. A similar pattern was observed on Saturday.Birder Nikhil Devasar, who has been documenting this interaction, told TOI, “What we are witnessing is an incredibly complex, unprecedented domestic drama that fundamentally challenges our understanding of urban avian behaviour. Hornbills possess a powerful, hardwired evolutionary drive to provision and protect a nest cavity during the breeding season.”He explained that for this lone female bird, those biological urges had gone into overdrive. “Lacking a mate or a nest of her own, her hormonal wiring has completely crossed species lines. However, this cross-species intervention is anything but peaceful; it is fraught with immense tension, confusion and raw territorial aggression. We have watched her aggressively chase away the rightful resident male, attempting to hijack the nesting cycle entirely,” Devasar said.He added that the stark difference between the two species’ natural diets and physical sizes created a bizarre mismatch. “While it is completely normal for an oriental pied hornbill to provision her young with larger prey, the much smaller Indian grey hornbill has a tighter nest opening and a diet primarily focused on fruits, berries and smaller, protein-rich insects like caterpillars.” The pied hornbill, Devasar pointed out, was repeatedly trying to force a heavy, adult jungle babbler carcass while the nesting female was steadfastly rejecting it.Birder Sheila Chhabra said the resident father was frequently accompanied by two younger grey hornbills. “Since oriental pied hornbill is a larger and more powerful bird, she aggressively intercepts the group and effortlessly manages to chase the young helpers away, completely disrupting the family’s natural support system around the nesting tree,” she said.The capital’s ornithologists plan to keep a close watch on the semul tree.
