For weeks, birdwatchers in Lodhi Garden here have been gathering before sunrise to witness what many describe as once-in-a-lifetime event unfolding inside a nest high up in a silk cotton tree.
What began as routine observation of a nesting Indian Grey Hornbill has developed into a mystery that is now drawing the attention of bird lovers, photographers and researchers alike.
The nest itself follows a familiar pattern. A female Indian Grey Hornbill sealed herself inside the cavity with mud, leaving only a narrow slit through which food could be passed. As is typical during nesting, the female depended on food brought by the male while she cared for her chicks inside.
Then came an unexpected visitor. An Oriental Pied Hornbill, a species usually associated with the lower Himalayan Terai region and not Delhi, began regularly arriving at the nest. Even more unusually, observers identified the bird as a female.
Since then, the female Oriental Pied Hornbill has repeatedly brought food, including berries, curry leaves, eggs and snails, to the nest. While not everything was accepted, a substantial amount was fed to the mother and her chicks.
The unusual behaviour first came to wider attention on May 12 when Delhi birder and retired school principal Anuradha Mathur spotted an Oriental Pied Hornbill alongside two male Indian Grey Hornbills near the nest. She shared photographs with birdwatchers through social media and messaging groups, triggering growing interest in the site.
“The camera I used to take that photo is unfortunately broken now, but a new story has been discovered in the avian world,” Mathur said. For regular visitors, however, the mystery extends beyond the bird’s presence in Delhi.
Birdwatcher and photographer Nikhil Dewasar said, “We’re baffled as to how a bird we’ve been visiting in the Terai region of Kumaon and Garhwal to see has ended up here. Now we’ve learned that there are two Oriental Pied Hornbills in Delhi – the one you see here and the one reported in the Jamia area. Incidentally, both are females.”
“It seems that someone nearby must have kept this bird in his farmhouse and it has escaped from there,” he adds. The female Indian Grey Hornbill has now emerged from the nest, though the chicks remain inside and are yet to fledge. Yet the questions surrounding the Oriental Pied Hornbill have only intensified.
Observers remain puzzled by why the bird continues to visit the nest despite the presence of the entire Grey Hornbill family. Some bird lovers privately wonder whether the behaviour is linked to feeding instincts or whether other motivations may emerge once the chicks leave the nest.
Former Indian Forest Service officer Mohan Pargaien believes the incident presents a rare opportunity for scientific study.
“This unusual instance of interspecies parenting in hornbills may have underlying reasons that warrant detailed study. It offers an excellent opportunity to unravel the complexities and mysteries associated with avian parenting behaviour. It is also possible that such behaviour has occurred sporadically in nature in the past, but this event provides a rare chance to examine bird behaviour in greater depth,” says Mohan Pargaien.
For now, every dawn at Lodhi Garden brings another gathering beneath the silk cotton tree, where not just birdwatchers but even commoners continue to look up at a nest that has unexpectedly become the centre of one of Delhi’s most intriguing wildlife mysteries.
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