Southern Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus rufirostris
Savanna. Bright red bill and pied plumage unmistakable.
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Identified by combination of red bill and black-and-white chequered upper parts; cf. [Crowned Hornbill] , which has plain brown upper parts. Immature has a shorter bill and buff spots on upper parts. The call very difficult to distinguish from that of [Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill], but uttered more rapidly. Pairs and small flocks frequent dry bushveld, broad-leaved woodland (particularly mopane) and thornveld, preferring drier conditions than [Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill], but often mixing with that species. Forages mostly on open ground.
Quick Facts
Size
42-50 cm - L
Names
A: Rooibekneushoringvoël
Ss: Korwe Ya Molomofubedu
Bird Family
Insectivorous and frugivorous birds with large, decurved bills, sometimes with a horny casque on the upper mandible. Arboreal or terrestrial feeders, or both, they nest in holes in trees (among rocks in a few species) and, in most species, the female seals herself in during incubation. Their flight is heavy and undulating with periods of gliding.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Pairs and small 'flocks' frequent dry bushveld, 'broad-leaved woodland' (particularly 'mopane') and thornveld, preferring drier conditions than [Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill], but often mixing with that species.
