The intrigue of the Indian Grey Hornbill at Ibaadat!

For the last year or so, we have been witness to the visitation from an exquisitely strange looking bird.

It would sit on the top branches of the Neem tree just outside our house, crane its neck that it could shoot out for some distance, rotate it to a 120 degree, round up its red eyes even more and look fear and awe inspiring.

We began calling it the Dragon Bird, for its alien like looks; till some ornithologist friends wisened us up and told us that it was the Indian Grey Hornbill!

I gather the following from Wikipedia - 

"It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. It has grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The horn is black or dark grey with a casqueextending to the point of curvature of the horn. It is one of the few hornbill species found in urban areas in many cities where they are able to make use of large trees in avenues.

The call is a squealing call somewhat like that of a black kite. The flight is heavy and involves flapping interspersed with glides. They are found in pairs or small groups.

They are almost completely arboreal, but very rarely descend to the ground to pick up fallen fruits, to dust bathe, or to pick up mud pellets to seal the nest cavity during the nesting period. They indulge in various social activities, including bill-grappling and aerial jousting."

Now, the visits, laregely of a pair or at times three Hornbills, have become somewhat more frequent, with at least once a week trips to the Neem tree. I notice that it happens usually on Saturdays. I wonder if there is any correlation; or it may be the very prosaic reason that I ended up sighting them more over the weekend.

We hang bird feeders from the railings and place water and grain bowls on the parapet of the peripheral boundary wall encasing Ibaadat. 

Very recently, about two weeks back, I caught a couple of Hornbills descend from their arboreal activities on the higher reaches of the Neem Tree to come and sit on the railing top just outside our gate. Then, one of the them began to slide down towards the grain bowl, but at the slighest hint of an ambient noise, it flew back to its camouflaging place in the thickset of the Neem leaves.

I have seen them looking squarely at me, shuffling back to hide themselves from my Camera, as I go about trying to capture the beauty of these magnificent birds.

While both of us are aware of each other's presence, I cannot say who is more scared and fearful of the other.

But to see them is simply a wonderful sight to behold!