Birds · Bucerotiformes · Bucerotidae

Red-billed Hornbill

Tockus erythrorhynchus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The red-billed hornbill is a small, slender hornbill of the African savannah, black and white with a long, curved red bill. It is one of the most familiar birds of the national parks of eastern and southern Africa. As in the other hornbills, the female shuts herself inside the nest hole, sealing the entrance with mud, and depends on the male throughout incubation and the rearing of the young.

Weight

128 g – 150 g

Size

42 cm – 50 cm

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

SavannaDesertOmnivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Savanna Desert

43countries 25parks7same family

Fun facts

It keeps a hunting partnership with the dwarf mongoose: the two species seek each other out in the morning, forage together and warn each other of predators, and if the hornbill arrives first it waits on the termite mound until the mongooses come out.
The female walls herself into the nest hole for almost two months and moults all her flight feathers at once while shut in, being left unable to fly at exactly the moment she does not need to.
It is the model for the character Zazu in The Lion King, who appears in the film as a red-billed hornbill.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Dry savannah, thorn scrub and open acacia woodland of sub-Saharan Africa
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 25 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 4 eggs

Sources consulted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_red-billed_hornbill