Part VII · Caring and Protecting
076 Sealed In, Fed with Love
Hey Hornbill, she seals herself into the tree and sheds her flight feathers. Now she cannot leave, and only you can feed her.
What holds two lives together like that?
What holds two lives together when one of them cannot leave?
High in a forest tree, there is a hole in the trunk. Its opening has been plastered shut with mud, leaving just a narrow slit.
A large bird with a huge curved bill lands at the slit and passes a fig through it.
What really happens
In many hornbill species, the female seals herself into a tree hole to lay her eggs, leaving only a narrow slit.
Inside, she sheds her flight feathers and cannot fly out for weeks. The male brings food for her and the chicks through the slit.
How we know: Hornbill nesting is well documented; India's Nature Conservation Foundation runs a programme where villagers protect hornbill nests.
The turn
Sometimes one partner must stay inside, sealed in: by illness, a newborn, a hard season.
The other keeps coming back to the slit, again and again.
Three takeaways
- Love is shown in repeated small deliveries.
- When someone cannot leave, keep coming to them.
- Trust is what lets someone seal themselves in.
Through the narrow slit, keep feeding love.
that best portion of a good man's life; / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love.