One of the 8 hornbills on WAnimals
Birds · Bucerotiformes · Bucerotidae
Yellow-casqued Hornbill
Ceratogymna elata
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
The yellow-casqued hornbill is a large bird of the forests of West Africa, the male sporting a bulky yellow casque above the bill. It feeds almost entirely on fruit and is one of the great seed dispersers of the African forest: it covers tens of kilometres a day and deposits the seeds of hardwood trees far from the parent tree. Hunting for bushmeat and the logging of primary forest have put it into retreat.
Weight
1.3 kg – 2.1 kg
Size
70 cm – 80 cm
Lifespan
25 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- Its wingbeats can be heard hundreds of metres away: like many large hornbills it lacks underwing coverts, and the air passing between its primaries produces a rhythmic whooshing unmistakable in the forest.
- It is one of the few animals able to disperse the largest seeds of the African forest: when it disappears from a wood, several hardwood trees lose their chief means of propagation.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Primary lowland rainforest of the Gulf of Guinea and West Africa
- Sexual maturity
- 4 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 45 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratogymna_elata
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 23 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Yellow-casqued Hornbill — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus erythrorhynchus
Angolan Colobus
Colobus angolensis
Black Colobus
Colobus satanas
Zebra Duiker
Cephalophus zebra
Congo Peafowl
Afropavo congensis
White-necked Rockfowl
Picathartes gymnocephalus
How to help
The yellow-casqued hornbill is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 6 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about yellow-casqued hornbill.
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