Friends,
I can remember seeing hornbills in the garden of my in-laws house in East London, South Africa years ago. The area was much like any upmarket British suburb in its street layout and architecture, with detached houses, large green lawns, flowerbeds, two cars in the drive. But in the gardens were chameleons, geckos, poisonous snakes, and huge hornbills. There are 62 recognised species of hornbill globally. Shown below is the Rufous Hornbill, a native to the tropical rainforests of the Philippines.
Many hornbills nest in tree cavities. The pair dig out the softer wood before the female enters the cavity, which the birds then seal up with their faeces mixed with gathered materials. The female raises the brood while effectively imprisoned, receiving food from the male through a keyhole in the tree. In some species, such as the Rufous Hornbill, the male is helped by other males, and raising young becomes a collective endeavour. Hornbills can seal themselves in their nest holes for the whole breeding period of 4-6 months.
“I like to watch birds—which is strange when you consider that I
have spent many years of my life in IMU (maximum-security)
where I was unable to see them. There you are confined only to a
small cell, you don’t get to see outside. Then again, maybe it is
because of that experience that I have gained this appreciation for
them. I don’t think I had it before they put me in that place.
Sometimes when I am watching birds, thoughts come to me—
like the one I had this morning. As I watched the starlings, I
couldn’t’t help but recognize a correlation between them and a
certain kind of prisoner—those who were raised by the state in its
institutions. They, too, were brought up to be where they are.
Free people, I suspect, would think it ridiculous to say that, but
that is only because they don’t know what it is like—what growing
up in those places teaches you, and what it doesn’t.”
Extract from The Prison Diary of Arthur Longworth #299180. Arthur Longworth. Pygmy Forest Press (2009)
Arthur Longworth is an award-winning writer who spent many years in the US prison system. You can find out more about his work on his website:
https://www.arthurlongworth.com
Sources:
An account of cooperative breeding in Rufous Hornbills - Mindanao Island, Philippines:
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v110n04/p0933-p0936.pdf
More extracts from Arthur Longworth’s prison diaries published here:
https://rkvryquarterly.com/the-prison-diaries-of-arthur-longworth/
For more information about Arthur Longworth, he has a website here:
The U.S. author Ken Lamberton also spent years in the prison system & writes powerful nonfiction about nature, especially birds. Check out his fine book, WILDERNESS AND RAZOR WIRE.
Arthur Longworth's reflections on the starlings, reminded me of how I have always wondered why many people stay in bad places or situations. It seems to fall under the category of - You don't know what you don't know. And thus, many who have not experienced their own freedom or freewill seem to self-limit their own existence.