Species group · Birds
Hornbills
WAnimals has 8 species of hornbill, in the family Bucerotidae.
- 8 species
- 1 family
- 62 countries
- 97 parks
- Weight
- 128 g – 4.4 kg
- Length
- 42 cm – 1.3 m
- Lifespan
- 20 – 50 years
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 8.
All 8 species of hornbills on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
VulnerableRhinoceros Hornbill
Buceros rhinoceros
13 countries9 parks
Critically EndangeredHelmeted Hornbill
Rhinoplax vigil
13 countries4 parks
VulnerableGreat Hornbill
Buceros bicornis
14 countries14 parks
VulnerableYellow-casqued Hornbill
Ceratogymna elata
21 countries23 parks
Least ConcernIndian Grey Hornbill
Ocyceros birostris
7 countries4 parks
Least Concern
Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus erythrorhynchus
43 countries25 parks
Vulnerable
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Bucorvus leadbeateri
43 countries32 parks
Vulnerable
Palawan Hornbill
Anthracoceros marchei
1 country1 park
Conservation status
5 Vulnerable2 Least Concern1 Critically Endangered
6 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.
Where they live
Recorded in 62 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…?
The female seals herself into the nest cavity with mud and droppings, leaving only a narrow slit through which the male passes her food while she incubates.
From Rhinoceros Hornbill
It paints its own casque: the orange and red is not its own pigment but the secretion of the preen gland, which the bird rubs against the casque until it is stained, and a poorly preserved museum specimen loses that colour.
From Rhinoceros Hornbill
As in all Asian hornbills, the female walls herself into the nest hole for months, sealing the entrance and depending entirely on the male.
From Rhinoceros Hornbill
Unlike other hornbills, its casque is solid keratin, and males use it to butt heads in mid-air during territorial disputes.
From Helmeted Hornbill
Its solid casque is what is known as hornbill ivory, and on the Asian black market it fetches more than elephant ivory: that demand has caused a collapse so rapid that in 2015 the species jumped straight from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered.
From Helmeted Hornbill
The males fight by colliding casque-first in mid-flight, an impact that carries a long way through the forest and that no other bird in the world performs.
From Helmeted Hornbill
The female walls herself into a tree hollow and the male feeds her for months.
From Great Hornbill
The female shuts herself inside a tree hollow and walls up the entrance with her own droppings, leaving only a slit through which the male feeds her throughout the incubation.
From Great Hornbill