Hornbill - Bird of the Month: November 2012
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Southern Yellow-billed Tokos Tockus leucomelas in Kruger National Park
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Southern Yellow-billed Tokos Tockus leucomelas in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
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Richprins
- Committee Member
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- Location: NELSPRUIT
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Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
From an army camp:
They are easy to catch when habituated, and don't worry too much!
They are easy to catch when habituated, and don't worry too much!
Flutterby wrote:Why would you want to catch one RP?
Richprins wrote:
Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
Re: HORNBILL - African Wild Bird Of The Month November
2. Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus)
Common resident. Identified by combination of red bill and black and white checkered upperparts which has plain brown upperparts. Immature has shorter bill and buff spots on upperparts. The call is similar to that of the Southern but is uttered more rapidly. Pairs and small flocks frequent dry bushveld broad - leaved woodland (particulary mopane) and thornveld, preferring drier conditions than the Southern. But often mixing with it. Forages mostly on open ground.
Size 42-50cm (Rooibekneushoringvoel).
Common resident. Identified by combination of red bill and black and white checkered upperparts which has plain brown upperparts. Immature has shorter bill and buff spots on upperparts. The call is similar to that of the Southern but is uttered more rapidly. Pairs and small flocks frequent dry bushveld broad - leaved woodland (particulary mopane) and thornveld, preferring drier conditions than the Southern. But often mixing with it. Forages mostly on open ground.
Size 42-50cm (Rooibekneushoringvoel).
http://prwinnan.wix.com/prwinnan-photography
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Sprocky
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- Country: South Africa
- Location: Grietjie Private Reserve
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Red-billed Hornbill
Sometimes it’s not until you don’t see what you want to see, that you truly open your eyes.
Red-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Hornbill
Dewi
What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on? (H D Thoreau)
What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on? (H D Thoreau)
African Grey hornbill
African Grey Hornbill (Tockus nasutus)
Description
This species is a large bird, at 45 cm in length, but is one of the smaller hornbills. It has mainly grey plumage, with the head, flight feathers and long tail being a darker shade. There is a white line down each side of the head and one on the back which is visible only in flight. The long curved bill is black and has a small casque and a creamy horizontal stripe.
The male has a black bill, whereas the female has red on the mandibles. The plumage of the male and female is similar. Immature birds are more uniformly grey. The flight is undulating.
This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with its incongruous piping pee-o pee-o pee-o call.
Distribution and habitat
Occurs throughout the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. In southern Africa it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, Mozambique, northern South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal. It generally prefers wooded savannas and woodland, ranging from miombo (Brachystegia) woodland to arid thornveld, wooded gardens and alien tree plantations.
Food
It mainly eats animals, such as birds eggs and nestlings, insects, rodents and frogs, supplemented with small fruit. It mainly forages by flying to different bushes, catching prey as it moves; it may also grab animals on the ground.
Breeding
It usually nests in natural holes in tree trunks or branches; once a site has been selected the female seals it from the inside with her own faeces. Most of its nests have a "chimney" or "funk-hole", which is a tunnel leading out from the cavity that the female moves into if it feels threatened. It occasionally nests in rock crevices, barbet-made tree holes and nest boxes.
Egg-laying season starts after first strong summer rains, peaking from October-November.
It lays 3-5 eggs at 1-7 day intervals, taking about 6-10 days to complete the clutch.
Incubation is done solely by the female for about 24 days, fed by the male through the small entrance slit.
The chicks stay in the nest for 43-49 days, although the female leaves when the oldest chick is 19-34 days old, after which the chicks reseal the entrance. After fledging the young join their parents on foraging trips, becoming fully independent a few weeks later.
Description
This species is a large bird, at 45 cm in length, but is one of the smaller hornbills. It has mainly grey plumage, with the head, flight feathers and long tail being a darker shade. There is a white line down each side of the head and one on the back which is visible only in flight. The long curved bill is black and has a small casque and a creamy horizontal stripe.
The male has a black bill, whereas the female has red on the mandibles. The plumage of the male and female is similar. Immature birds are more uniformly grey. The flight is undulating.
This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with its incongruous piping pee-o pee-o pee-o call.
Distribution and habitat
Occurs throughout the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. In southern Africa it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern Namibia, Mozambique, northern South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal. It generally prefers wooded savannas and woodland, ranging from miombo (Brachystegia) woodland to arid thornveld, wooded gardens and alien tree plantations.
Food
It mainly eats animals, such as birds eggs and nestlings, insects, rodents and frogs, supplemented with small fruit. It mainly forages by flying to different bushes, catching prey as it moves; it may also grab animals on the ground.
Breeding
It usually nests in natural holes in tree trunks or branches; once a site has been selected the female seals it from the inside with her own faeces. Most of its nests have a "chimney" or "funk-hole", which is a tunnel leading out from the cavity that the female moves into if it feels threatened. It occasionally nests in rock crevices, barbet-made tree holes and nest boxes.
Egg-laying season starts after first strong summer rains, peaking from October-November.
It lays 3-5 eggs at 1-7 day intervals, taking about 6-10 days to complete the clutch.
Incubation is done solely by the female for about 24 days, fed by the male through the small entrance slit.
The chicks stay in the nest for 43-49 days, although the female leaves when the oldest chick is 19-34 days old, after which the chicks reseal the entrance. After fledging the young join their parents on foraging trips, becoming fully independent a few weeks later.
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Flutterby
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- Location: Gauteng, South Africa
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African Grey Hornbill
This pair of grey hornbills live in the garden of a friend of mine near Kyalami...supposedly totally out of their range!
