Ground
Hornbill
Bucerosbicornis
Photographed at
Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida Mar 2011
The
ground hornbills are the only ground dwellers among hornbills. Hornbills are
notable for their long eyelashes and rather stubby legs and toes, with broad
soles and the bases of the three front toes partly fused.
Ground
hornbills prefer steppes and savannas with a low grass growth, which makes the
search for food easier. They have very large territories of about 100 sq.
kilometres.
In
South Africa, there has been a large decline in their numbers for many reasons.
They are popular to use as "muti" or tribal medicine among some of
the indigenous people of South Africa. The brain of a ground hornbill, if kept
in a village, is reputed to bring the village luck.
Irate
homeowners kill them because they will attack windows, breaking them, if they
encounter their reflections. They are also vulnerable to picking up poison
baits that are set out for predators.
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