Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
| Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Etosha National Park | |
| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Bucerotidae |
| Genus: | Tockus |
| Species: | T. leucomelas |
| Binomial name | |
| Tockus leucomelas Lichtenstein, 1842 | |
 | |
| Blue – range | |
The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) is a Hornbill found in southern Africa. It is a medium sized bird, with length between 48 to 60 cm, characterized by a long yellow beak with a casque (casque reduced in the female). The skin around the eyes and in the malar stripe is pinkish. The related Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill from north-eastern Africa has blackish skin around the eyes.
They have a white belly, grey neck, and black back with abundant white spots and stripes. They feed mainly on the ground, where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. Termites and ants are a preferred food source in the dry season.
Females lay 3 to 4 white eggs in their nest cavities and incubate them for about 25 days. Juveniles take about 45 days to mature. This hornbill is a common, widespread resident of the dry thorn fields and broad-leafed woodlands. Frequently they can be sighted along roads.
Information from a Kruger National Park ranger, these birds are known locally as the "Flying Banana".
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