Southern ground hornbill

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Help stop habitat loss

Their plumage is primarily black with the exception of white primary feathers.
The adults have bright red skin around their eyes and neck. Their eyes are pale yellow and their bill is completely black in color.
The juveniles exhibit brown plumage before they become adults. Both their eyes and bill are grey. The skin on their face is brownish yellow.
They typically will remain in pairs or small groups, typically 2 to 11 individuals.
They are sexually dimorphic; the female is smaller than the male and she has a small violet-blue patch on the chin and upper throat.

Range – Africa (Central Kenya (Nairobi) and Zaire south to northern Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa)
Habitat – grasslands and woodlands

Wild – Insects and a variety of small vertebrates such as, hares, rodents, snakes, lizards, toads
Zoo – Bird of prey diet (i.e. crickets, mice, rats, mealworms and quail)

Courtship may involve all adult males within group, but only the dominant male will actually copulate. The remainder of the group will aid in the care of the offspring.
The nest is typically made in a tree (often in baobab trees), cliff or bank.
The female will lay one or two eggs and they will be laid between the months of September and November.
Incubation takes approximately 40 days.
The offspring are altricial when born and they will appear naked, blind and blackish-blue in color.
The offspring fledge after approximately 86 days. The female chicks leave the family group at around two years but male offspring will stay with the family for about ten years before pairing up. The adults will often still feed the young until it is two years of age.
The young will reach sexual maturity at approximately 3 years of age.

Major threats: Habitat loss
Population is declining due to human encroachment and habitat loss due to agricultural development.

Ground hornbills will take flight if threatened or alarmed by surrounding predators.
Their vocalization consists of a low-pitched booming sound. The vocalization is often produced at dawn and is used to establish the territory.

African Ground Hornbill (2004). Retrieved December 06, 2004, from the Honolulu Zoo Web site: http://www.honoluluzoo.org/african_ground_hornbill.htm
Newman, K. (1983). Ground Hornbill. In Birds of Southern Africa. Southern Book Publishers.
Southern Ground Hornbill (n.d.). Retrieved December 06, 2004, from the Ground Hornbill Project Web site: http://www.groundhornbill.org.za/html/about.htm
Williams, J.G. (1980). Ground Hornbill. In A Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa. Collins, England: Collins.
Zimmerman, D.A., Turner, D.A., & Pearson, D.J. (1996). Southern Ground Hornbill. In Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Updated December 2004