Anyone for Jousting?

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After writing about fantail pigeons, I thought you might like to know about the helmeted hornbill. This bird is found in Africa, Asia and Melanesia in tropical and subtropical regions. As the name suggests, the hornbill has a large, solid protuberance or casque on the upper mandible of its beak. This is made of keratin as is human hair and finger- and toenails. The casque makes up 10% of the bird's weight. To carry this weight, the neck muscles are very strong and the first two vertebrae of the neck are joined. There is a patch of bare, leathery skin on the neck. It also has some unusual behaviours. The hornbill has a maniacal cackle consisting of a series of hoots then a laughing sound. Hornbills, usually males, engage in 'jousting'. They will slap branches with their beaks before taking to the air and flying straight towards each other, colliding in mid-air. The casques hitting each other create a 'clack' which can be heard for quite some distance. They may continue with these aerial collisions for several hours. I wonder if they get headaches.