One of the 8 hornbills on WAnimals
Birds · Bucerotiformes · Bucerotidae
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Bucorvus leadbeateri
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
The southern ground hornbill is a large black bird, the size of a turkey, with a bare face and throat of intense red. Unlike the other hornbills it lives on the ground and walks about in search of reptiles, insects, rodents and other birds. It lives in family groups with cooperative breeding and an extraordinarily slow biology: a pair raises one chick every three years, and the young do not breed until past their first decade.
Weight
3.3 kg – 4.4 kg
Size
90 cm – 1.3 m
Lifespan
50 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- Its breeding rate is among the slowest of all birds: one chick every three years, and the young take six years to mature and usually stay on for a decade helping in the family group before breeding themselves.
- In many cultures of southern Africa it is regarded as a sacred bird associated with rain, and killing it has traditionally been held to be a taboo that brings drought.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Open savanna, grassland and miombo woodland of eastern and southern Africa
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 4.5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 42 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucorvus_leadbeateri
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in the savannahs of southern and eastern Africa, by day; it walks in family parties and its deep call carries for kilometres.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 32 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Southern Ground-Hornbill — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus erythrorhynchus
VulnerableCheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Somali Ostrich
Struthio molybdophanes
VulnerableTopi
Damaliscus lunatus
Black-footed Cat
Felis nigripes
Cape Vulture
Gyps coprotheres
How to help
The southern ground-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 10 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about southern ground-hornbill.
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