Africa Wild

459. Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus leucomelas (Geelbekneushoringvoël)
Order: Bucerotiformes. Family: Bucerotidae


Description: 48-60 cm. White belly. Grey neck. Black back covered with white spots and stripe. Yellow bill. Bare red skin around eyes and malar stripe. Eyes yellow. Sexes alike.
Juvenile has smaller bill and is more dusky; eyes grey becoming brown.

Distribution
Inland southern Africa (western and southern Angola, southern Zambia, northern Namibia, Botswana, north-central and north-eastern South Africa, Zimbabwe, western and southern Mozambique, and Swaziland).



Habitat
Wide range of savanna and more closed woodland.

Diet:
They feed mainly on the ground foraging for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. They also eat small vertebrates, eggs, fruit, seeds and young leaves. Termites and ants are a preferred food source in the dry season.

Breeding
Monogamous. It nests in natural tree holes up to about 12 m above ground, lining the chamber with dry leaves and small bark flakes. The entrance is sealed by the female from the inside with her own faeces, leaving a vertical slit 5-15 mm wide. Egg-laying season always follows good rains, usually peaking from September-October. The clutch consists of 3 to 4 white eggs. Incubation by the female lasts for or about 25 days, the male feeds the female through the narrow slit. The chicks stay in the nest for 42-47 days, remaining near the nest for a few more days before joining their parents in foraging trips. When the oldest chick is 19-27 days old the female leaves the nest for the first time since laying the eggs.

Call
Long series of clucking notes kok kok kok korkorkorkorkor. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common, widespread resident and near-endemic. Usually in pairs or small family groups in non-breeding season.

459. Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus leucomelas (Geelbekneushoringvoël)

© harrys

© flying cheetah
Kruger National Park, Waterhole Road S65

© Michele Nel

Links:
Species text Sabap1: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/459.pdf
Sabap2
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-south ... nbill.html
NEWMAN'S VOELS VAN SA (8ste UIT)

455. Trumpeter Hornbill Bycanistes bucinator (Gewone Boskraai)
Order: Bucerotiformes. Family: Bucerotidae


Desription
Mainly black above, with a black throat and upper breast very clearly separated from a white lower breast and belly. It has long feathery trousers. A dark casque on top of the dark bill. The bare skin around the eye is pinkish red. In flight white trailing edge to the wing visible.
Adult male has a heavier bill with a longer casque than adult female.
The Juvenile has almost no casque.
Similar species: Similar to Silvery-cheeked Hombill but is smaller, has a reduced and less obvious casque on top of its bill, and has a black throat. As the white colouring is confined to the lower belly and rump, it appears a much blacker bird than the Trumpeter Hornbill.

Distribution
Occurs from Kenya and Angola to the eastern half of southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, Caprivi Strip (Namibia), Mozambique and eastern South Africa.



Habitat
It generally prefers warm coastal and riverine evergreen lowland forest, often near watercourses, although often flying across other habitats on its way to new forest patches.

Diet
The diet includes mainly fruits and insects, especially termite alates. It often spends the day in a single fruiting tree, foraging in it before moving to a different site the next day.

Breeding
It uses natural holes in trees as nesting sites. The female seals herself into the nest with mud and faeces collected by the male, leaving a small slit. Egg-laying season is from September-January, peaking from October-November. It lays 2-4 white eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for roughly 24 days. The male forages for the female, giving food to her through the entrance slit. The chicks stay in the nest for at least 50 days, remaining near the nest for about a week before joining the parents in foraging flights. The female stays in the nest from when the eggs are laid to when the chicks fledge, a period of about 94 days.

Call
Loud nasal wailing whaa-aa- aaa-aaaa like a crying baby. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Locally common resident.

455. Trumpeter Hornbill Bycanistes bucinator

© Lisbeth
Male, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

© Lisbeth
Female - Port Edward, South coast, KZN

© BluTuna
Male

© leachy
Male

© Moggiedog
Male

© Amoli
Female

© PRWIN
Female

Links:
Sabap2
Species Text Sabap1
NEWMAN'S VOELS VAN SA (8ste UIT)

Traditionally, the Ground-hornbills are considered just a subfamily of the typical Hornbills Bucerotidae. However, unlike all other Hornbills, Ground-hornbills do not seal the female inside a nest cavity, they walk instead of hop, they lack a carotid artery (unique among all birds), and they have 15 instead of 14 neck vertebrae. Therefore ornithologists consider the hornbills a distinct order Bucerotiformes and usually raise the ground hornbills to family level (Bucorvidae) on account of their distinctness. The genus Bucorvus contains two extant species: Southern Ground-hornbill ranges widely through east and south Africa. The Abyssinian Ground-hornbill occurs in the arid Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, east to Uganda.
The neck wattles on both species can be inflated and are used to make booming or grunting sounds, often just before dawn. That of Southern Ground-hornbill can be called "lion-like," while the higher-pitched call of Abyssinian recalls the grunt of a leopard.
Ground hornbills are large, with adults around a metre tall. Both species are ground-dwelling, unlike other hornbills and feed on insects, snakes, other birds, amphibians and even tortoises. They are among the longest-lived of all birds, with the larger southern species being indeed possibly the slowest-breeding (triennially) and longest-lived of all birds.

Family Bucorvidae (Ground Hornbills)
Bucorvus leadbeateri Southern Ground Hornbill 463

463. Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri
Order: Bucerotiformes. Family: Bucorvidae


Description
Size: 90-130 cm; 2.5-6 kg. A large turkey sized black bird with a long decurved bill and conspicuous red face and throat. Males are larger than females. The sexes look alike in young birds, but once they are fully mature, the males have fully red facial skin, while the female has a patch of violet blue below the bill, which in some cases can cover most of the lower parts of the facial skin.
Adult male: Characterized by black plumage and vivid red-coloured face and throat pouches. The white tips of the wings (primary feathers) seen in flight are another diagnostic characteristic. The beak is black, straight and presents a casque.
Adult female: Similar to the male, but has a smaller bill and casque than the male, and a small blue throat patch (variable in size) between the red throat pouches.
Juvenile: The plumage is sooty brown. Facial skin initially pale grey-brown, turning yellow within a year, flecked red by 2 years, orange by 3 years and only fully red by 4-6 years.

Distribution
The Southern Ground Hornbill occurs from Kenya and the DRC to southern Africa, where it is widespread but fairly scarce in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo Province and northern Namibia.
The Southern Ground Hornbill was formally distributed throughout Africa south of the Equator. However it has disappeared from several parts of its former range, maybe as much as 70% in South Africa, and extensive areas in Zimbabwe. The core concentrations in South Africa lie in the extensive conservation areas of the Kruger National Park and adjacent private reserves, the conservation and farming areas of northern and midland KwaZulu-Natal, and the rural areas of the Eastern Cape. It occurred at low densities in Swaziland and a gap in the range is becoming apparent, separating the populations in northern KwaZulu-Natal and the southern KNP

Habitat
Scarce resident and nomad in savanna, woodland and grassland with adjoining forest. Occurs in family groups.

Diet
Small animals up to squirrel and hare size, reptiles such as lizards, snakes and tortoises, also insects, frogs and snails. It often finds prey by digging, especially in dung heaps.

Breeding
These birds are the largest avian species known to be obligate cooperative breeders, and one of only four African hornbills are thought to exhibit this social organisation. Monogamous, and breeding co-operatively, with a group consisting of a dominant breeding pair and up to 9 helpers, who are either adult males or juveniles from previous breeding seasons. Ground Hornbills nest high up in large trees with sizable cavities, sometimes in holes on cliffs or earth banks, and rarely on old stick nests. In 80% of clutches, the breeding female lays two eggs and the second egg is laid three to five days after the first. Since incubation commences with the first egg, the chicks hatch 3 to 5 days apart. The older chick may weigh 250g by the time the second hatched chick hatches, at about 60g. The eldest chick always out-competes its younger sibling for food and the younger dies of starvation within a few days of hatching. The critical aspect of Southern Ground Hornbill breeding biology is their naturally low productivity. The birds breed during the austral summer, with egg-laying in September to December, usually after the first good rains, but sometimes not every year. On average, attempts to breed are every 2.6 years, but the average overall fledging rate in the Kruger National Park is only one chick per group every 9.3 years. In South Africa, the clutch size is one or two eggs, rarely three and they are incubated for about 42 days. Only one chick is ever reared by to fledging by the adults, even in a captive environment when food supply is not an issue. The adult female will brood and feed her chick for the first month, on food delivered to the nest by the group, and only later join the other group members in gathering food. Fledging occurs around 86 days after hatching. It takes six years for a young bird to reach adulthood and it most probably does not start breeding even thenas it first has to become a dominant alpha bird in a group. It was estimated that the first successful breeding in females in the wild would be around 15-17 years, but in captivity they are breeding at 10 years old. It is estimated that they live on average about 45 years, but maybe individually for up to 60 years or longer in the wild.

Call
Deep booming 4-note phrases ooomph-ooomph, male at lower pitch than female. Calls in duet for long periods at dawn and early morning to advertise territory. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Generally uncommon resident. Resident and territorial; usually found in groups of 3-5 birds. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

463. Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri





© harrys
Male

© JustN@ture
Juvenile

© Dewi
Female

© Dewi
Female

© dup

© leachy

© Bushcraft

© leachy

© leachy

Links:
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/463.pdf]
Sabap2: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/spp_summary.ph ... &section=3
Oiseaux net: http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-south ... nbill.html
ARKive: http://www.arkive.org/southern-ground-h ... adbeateri/
Mabula Ground Hornbill Project
Southern African Wildlife College: Southern Ground-Hornbill
L. Combrink, S. Ronaldson and A. Botha: Keeping Kruger's Hornbills Happy

Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half.
Woodpeckers and their relatives nest in holes or cavities. Woodpeckers and barbets chisel out their own nest-holes using their dagger-like bill. Some species are rather anti-social in their habits and show aggression towards other woodpeckers (including those of their own species). Other woodpecker species are more social and live in groups that breed communally. Some woodpeckers gather with other species of birds in mixed flocks.
Like parrots, woodpeckers and their relatives have zygodactyl feet, which means that of their four toes, two face forward and two face backwards. This arrangement enables woodpeckers to grasp onto and climb tree trunks with ease.
Many woodpeckers and their relatives have strong legs and a sturdy tail, both adaptations that enable them to grasp tightly to vertical surfaces such as tree trunks. Since woodpeckers hammer their bills against the tree trunk to dig out insects or build nests, they have specially adapted skulls which protect the brain by cushioning the impact that repeated pounding inflicts.
Bill shape varies widely among members of the group. Woodpeckers have a chisel-like bill that is long and sharp. This enables woodpeckers to hammer and chip away at the bark of trees to get to insects and grubs hidden within.
Most woodpeckers and their relatives feed almost exclusively on insects, grubs and other arthropods. They forage on tree trunks of both dead and living trees.
The barbets are the exceptions among the otherwise insect-eating woodpeckers. Barbets feed on fruit. The honeyguides are also unique, they feed not only on insects but also on beeswax.
Woodpeckers and their relatives are found in most parts the world but are absent from oceanic islands as well as Australia, Madagascar and Antarctica. Among the various subgroups, the woodpeckers are widespread, piculets inhabit tropical regions within Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, and wrynecks occur throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.
Woodpeckers and their relatives prefer woodlands but live in a variety of habitats such as temperate forests, tropical rainforests, savannas, bamboo forests, deserts and scrublands. Woodpeckers and their relatives include species that are migratory as well as those that are sedentary.

ORDER PICIFORMES
Family Lybiidae (African Barbets)
Family Indicatoridae (Honeyguides)
Family Picidae (Woodpeckers)

The Lybiidae is a bird family containing the African barbets. There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa. The African terrestrial barbets, Trachyphoninae, range from the southern Sahara to South Africa. Members of one genus, Trachyphonus, they are the most open-country species of barbets. The subfamily Lybiinae contains the African arboreal barbets. There are 36 species of Lybiinae in 6 genera.
They are usually about 20–25 cm long, plump-looking, with large heads, and their heavy bill is fringed with bristles; however the tinkerbirds are smaller, ranging down to the Red-rumped Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus atroflavus) with a mere 7 g and 9 cm in length.
They are mainly solitary birds, eating insects and fruit. Figs and numerous other species of fruiting tree and bush are visited, an individual barbet may feed on as many as 60 different species in its range. They will also visit plantations and take cultivated fruit and vegetables. Fruit is eaten whole and indigestible material such as seed pits regurgitated later (often before singing). Regurgitation does not usually happen in the nest (as happens with toucans), although tinkerbirds do place sticky mistletoe seeds around the entrances of their nests, possibly to deter predators. As the other barbets, they are thought to be important agents in seed dispersal in tropical forests.
As well as taking fruit, African barbets also take arthropod prey, gleaned from the branches and trunks of trees. A wide range of insects are taken, including ants, cicadas, dragonflies, crickets, locusts, beetles, moths and mantids. Scorpions and centipedes are also taken, and a few species will take small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs and geckos.
The precise nesting details of many African barbets are not yet known, although peculiarly among the Piciformes, some sociable species will nest in riverbanks or termite nests. Like many members of their order, Piciformes, their nests are in holes bored into a tree, and they usually lay between 2 to 4 eggs, incubated for 13–15 days. Nesting duties are shared by both parents.

ORDER PICIFORMES
Family Lybiidae (African Barbets)
Stactolaema leucotis White-eared Barbet 466
Stactolaema whytii Whyte's Barbet 467
Stactolaema olivacea Green Barbet 468
Pogoniulus simplex Green Tinkerbird 472
Pogoniulus bilineatus Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird 471
Pogoniulus pusillus Red-fronted Tinkerbird 469
Pogoniulus chrysoconus Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird 470
Tricholaema leucomelas Acacia Pied Barbet 465
Lybius torquatus Black-collared Barbet 464
Trachyphonus vaillantii Crested Barbet 473