|
| Hamerkops | |
|---|---|
| |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Feather color |
Brown, gray, and red |
| Eye color |
Brown |
| Distinctions |
Crests |
| Sociocultural characteristics | |
| Habitat |
Savanna |
| Dominions | |
| Predators | |
| Notable members | |
| “ | ” |
Hamerkops are a species of animal native to the Pride Lands. They are preyed upon by hawks.
History
Ono's temporary stewardship of Ona
| “ | ” |
When Kulinda the hamerkop noticed Ono chasing a harrier hawk through the Pride Lands, she shielded her nest from the danger and worried what would become of her egg with such a dangerous predator in the area. After the Lion Guard sent the hawk away, Kulinda watched them in fascination and deduced that Ono would make the perfect babysitter for her egg. Without consulting him, she carried her egg to his nest and deposited it among the twigs.
Later that day, the Lion Guard led Ono back to his nest and praised him for a hard day's work. Ono was about to settle down in his nest when he felt Kulinda's egg and realized that a hamerkop had left an egg in his nest. Confused, he wondered why a hamerkop would abandon its egg, and Kion resolved to find the mother and clear up the misunderstanding. Ono commented that the egg was close to hatching and required someone to sit on it in order to keep it warm. Bunga volunteered to keep the egg warm, but Ono worried that he would be too rough with it and so decided to sit on the egg himself.
While Ono was sitting on the egg, it suddenly hatched beneath him. A baby hamerkop emerged and began to imprint on Ono, to his dismay. Shortly afterward, the baby hamerkop chased a bug out of Ono's nest, and he was forced to pursue her across the savanna.
Ono continued to chase after the baby hamerkop until she strayed dangerously close to a raging river. He managed to save the infant just in time and proceeded to scold her for having run away from him. He tried to convince her to return to the safety of his nest, but she indicated that she was too tired for the return journey. Giving in to her demands, Ono led the baby hamerkop into some tall grass and fell asleep with her tucked underneath his wing.
Meanwhile, the Lion Guard arrived at Ono's nest, only to find it empty. Kulinda began to frantically call for her baby, and the baby hamerkop followed her mother's cries to Ono's nest, where the two finally met each other for the first time. Mother and daughter began to imprint on one another, and Ono watched in delight, happy to see his charge safe once more. After the imprint was complete, Kulinda thanked Ono for his help, and he warned her that baby hamerkops could get very distracted by insects. No sooner had he said this when he realized that the baby hamerkop had gone missing again, and he and the rest of Lion Guard rushed to save her from danger.
Ono scoped out the area for the baby hamerkop and spotted her wandering near the river. Fuli attempted to save the baby hamerkop from danger but arrived too late to stop her from falling into the raging water. With no time to lose, the Lion Guard and Kulinda pursued the baby hamerkop down the river, only to watch in horror as Mpishi, the harrier hawk, caught the baby in her talons.
Kulinda and Ono attempted to thwart Mpishi's plans, but Mpishi worked with Mwoga to keep the baby hamerkop from falling back into the Lion Guard's grasp. From the ground, Bunga worked out how he could help Kulinda and Ono, and climbed a tree in order to reach the feuding birds. He managed to knock Mwoga from the sky, but Mpishi only took the baby hamerkop from him and swooped out of harm's way once more.
As Ono watched Mpishi fly away, he worked out how he and Kulinda could work together, and the two flanked her from the front and the back, forcing her to drop the baby. Mpishi crashed unceremoniously to the ground, where she was surrounded by the Lion Guard and forced to return to her own territory. Kulinda thanked Ono by naming her daughter "Ona" in his honor. The three then performed the imprinting dance together, as Ono was now considered their family.[1]
Kulinda and Ona's reunion with Ono
Upon returning from the Tree of Life, Ono reunited with Kulinda and Ona.[2]
Physical characteristics
Hamerkops are medium-sized birds with brown feathers and blue beaks and legs. They have tan wingtips and red stripes on their wings. As hatchlings, their feathers are gray.[1]
Sociocultural characteristics
Hamerkops live in nests made of twigs on the savanna. They are preyed upon by hawks. As infants, hamerkops perform a dance to bond with their family.[1]
Notable hamerkops
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Revealed in "Ono and the Egg" from Disney Junior's The Lion Guard. Season 2, Episode 4. Written by Elise Allen and directed by Tom Derosier and Howy Parkins. Originally aired July 21, 2017.
- ↑ Revealed in "Return to the Pride Lands" from Disney Junior's The Lion Guard. Season 3, Episode 19. Written by Kendall Michele Haney and Ford Riley, and directed by Tom Derosier and Howy Parkins. Originally aired November 3, 2019.