Hornbills

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Great Indian             Ground            Silver Cheeked               Trumpeter

Von der Decken's      Wrinkled    

The 54 spiecies of hornbills are found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. Their long, down-curved bill which is brightly colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. 

Hornbills have a two-lobed kidney. They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. They feed on fruit and small animals. They nest in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of species of hornbill are threatened with extinction.

Wrinkled Hornbill

Wrinkled Hornbill

(Aceros corrugatus)

Photographed at 

Toronto Zoo, Toronto Canada    Sep 2011

The Wrinkled Hornbill or Sunda Wrinkled Hornbill is a medium-large hornbill which is found in forest in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.

The Wrinkled Hornbill has a blue eye-ring, and a broadly white or rufous-tipped tail. The male and female have different head and bill patterns. Males have bright yellow feathers on the cheeks, throat, neck-sides and chest, black in the female, except for the blue throat. The bill of the male is yellow with a red base and casque, and a brownish basal half of the lower mandible. The bill and casque of the female is almost entirely yellow.

The Wrinkled Hornbill eats mainly figs, although it will also eat small animals such as frogs and insects. Wrinkled Hornbills do not drink, but get the water they need from their food. Their call can be heard for miles.

These birds pair for life. They use holes found in trees for nests, and the female will plaster over the entrance with mud and droppings, leaving a nesting mother and her chicks only a small hole, too small for them to exit. They are fed exclusively by the male, who regurgitates food for them. After several months, when the chicks are ready, the female will break out of her nest. Wrinkled Hornbills were first bred in captivity in 1988.

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Von der Decken's

Von der Decken's Hornbill

Tockusdeckeni

Photographed at 

Reid Zoo, Tucson, Arizona  Mar 2010

The Von der Decken's hornbill measures approximately 17-20 inches and has mainly white plumage on its body with black wings and a tail. The male has a red and ivory two-tone bill. The female has a black bill. Neither the male nor the female have a hollow outgrowth casque on their bill

During incubation, the female lays two or three white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off with cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.

When the chicks and the female are too big to fit in the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, and then both parents feed the chicks.

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Trumpeter Hornbill

Trumpeter Hornbill

Bucerosbicornis

Photographed at 

Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida  Mar 2011

Trumpeter Hornbill is found in the savannah region of Burundi. Characterized by its signature casque on top of its black bill, the Trumpeter Hornbill is easily recognizable. The casque of the male species of Trumpeter Hornbill is larger than that of the females.

The plumage of the Trumpeter Hornbill is mostly black in color. The skin encircling the eyes of the Trumpeter Hornbill is of bright pink color. The color of the feet is black.

Trumpeter Hornbill prefers fruits as the main item of food. It flies to distant regions in search of fruit trees. A group of Trumpeter Hornbills can consist of 3 to 13 members.

Trumpeter Hornbill nests in the natural hole of a tree. The female lays 2 to 4 eggs in the concealed nest. The incubation of the eggs requires duration of 15 days. After the end of the incubation period, the baby Trumpeter Hornbill hatches in the nest and remains there until it can fly away.

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Silver-Cheeked Hornbill

Silver-Cheeked Hornbill

 (Bycanistes brevis)

Photographed at 

Bird Kingdom, Niagara Canada    Mar 2010

The Silver-cheeked Hornbill is a large bird at (30 to 31 in) in length with a very large creamy casque on the beak. The female has a smaller casque and reddish skin around the eyes. The head is silver-grey and the rest of the plumage is iridescent black, except for the white rump.

Silver-cheeked Hornbills are residents of the tall evergreen forests of Africa. In Zimbabwe, it is threatened by habitat destruction and its presence in South Africa is marginal, but it remains locally fairly common, especially in the northern and central parts of its range.

Usually they live in pairs and sometimes roost in flocks of hundreds of individuals. This hornbill feeds on fruits, insects, small birds, rodents, small reptiles and centipedes.

They breed in spring (September and October; at least in part of its range) and lay clutches of 1 to 3 white eggs, incubated for 40 days. The young remain with both parents for about 80 days.

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Ground Hornbill

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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Great Indian

Greater Indian Hornbill

 (Bucerosbicornis)

Photographed at 

Reid Zoo, Tucson, Arizona  Mar 2011

The Great Hornbill also known as Greater Indian Hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity. The most prominent feature of the hornbill is the bright yellow and black casque on top of its massive bill. The casque is hollow and serves no known purpose.

Approximately 60 hornbills are currently held in the US, and lesser numbers in other countries. While housing them and accommodating their diet holds little challenge, breeding them is notoriously difficult with fewer than a dozen successful attempts.

In captivity hornbills eat fruits and meat and a healthy diet is made up in most part, by fruit and some source of protein. A few have been tamed in captivity but hornbill behaviour in captivity is described as high-strung. Captive specimens may bask in the sun with outstretched wings

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