Saturday, July 21, 2012

>>>Subfamily Bucorvinae >>Genus Bucorvus (Ground hornbill)

Ground hornbill


Ground hornbill
Southern Ground Hornbill
(Bucorvus leadbeateri)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Coraciiformes
Family:Bucerotidae
Subfamily:Bucorvinae
Genus:Bucorvus
Lesson, 1830
Species
Bucorvus leadbeateri
Bucorvus abyssinicus
The ground hornbills (Bucorvinae) are a subfamily of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, with a single genus Bucorvus and two extant species. It can eat snakes as well as lots of other thingss
The subfamily is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa - Abyssinian Ground Hornbill being found in a belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia, with Southern Ground Hornbill occurring in the south and east of the continent.
Ground hornbills are large, with adults around a metre tall. Both species are ground-dwelling, unlike other hornbills. They can be very long-lived.


Taxonomy

Some ornithologists consider the hornbills a distinct order Bucerotiformes and raise the Ground-hornbills to family level (Bucorvidae) on account of their distinctness. The genusBucorvus contains two extant species:
  • Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus (also known as Northern Ground Hornbill)
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri
A prehistoric ground hornbill, Bucorvus brailloni, has been described from fossil bones.

Gallery

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