The Malabar grey Hornbill and the Scorpion - 1

[Shyamala Kumar]

I espied this hornbill capture its poisonous prey from the rocks on the ground and fly up into the branches of a tree.Once safely among the foliage it proceeded to disarm its poisonous prey.First went the pedipalps then it was the sting.All the time it went flitting from perch to perch while its powerful beak went clip clip totally disarming its poisonous prey.Canon60D+100-400mm ISO 500 f/5.6 1/400s May evening 2014 Dandeli.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Rare sighting of a grey hornbill feeding on a scorpion. Good you could photograph it on a clear perch. Liked the way one of the fangs can be seen in its beak. How long did it take to disarm an eat? Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Lovely record. Same question as Mrudul. How long did the entire act last? Did you sight it close to the resort? Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Shyamala Kumar]

The whole incident of capture and processing lasted for about 3-4 mins.In fact I saw it fly into a hole in a tree after it had totally consumed it.It flew back and to my amazement picked up another scorpion and started the whole process again.There had been a deluge and this had probably caused nooks and crannies in the rocks below to flood bringing the scorpions scurrying out into the open.I saw the hornbill through the window and immediately ran out with the camera .Our hut was on a steep hill side and the branches of the tall trees were near the windows.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Lovely record. Hornbills are known to be opportunistic feeders, i.e. they don't actively seek scorpions.So your idea of the scorpion being forced out of its burrow could be true.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Very nice. A good natural history record and well captured.
Tfs
Roopak