- Tockus leucomelas
Identification
48 to 60 cm (19-23½ in)
- Long yellow beak
- Male has a casque
- Bare red skin around eyes and malar stripe
- White belly
- Grey neck
- Black back covered with white spots and stripes
Distribution
This hornbill is a common, widespread resident of the dry thorn-veld and broad-leafed woodlands of inland southern Africa (western and southern Angola, southern Zambia, northern Namibia, Botswana, north-central and north-eastern South Africa, Zimbabwe, western and southern Mozambique, and eSwatini).
Taxonomy
There are two subspecies[1],[2] based mainly on differences in the intensity of the plumage and bare parts colour, and size[3]:
- T. l. leucomelas is from Botswana, northern and central Namibia, east to southern Malawi, western Mozambique, and northern and eastern South Africa (including areas of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and eSwatini)
- T. l. elegans from north-eastern Namibia and southwestern Angola, is smaller and paler than the nominate race
Subspecies parvior is no longer considered valid.
Recognition of T. l. elegans as a separate species may be justified[3] or it may not even be a valid subspecies[4].
Habitat
Dry Acacia and broad-leafed woodlands. Frequently they can be sighted along roads.
Behaviour
Breeding
The clutch consists of 3 to 4 white eggs usually laid in a natural cavity in a tree trunk. Incubation lasts for or about 25 days. Juveniles maturing after about 45 days.
Diet
They feed mainly on the ground foraging for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. They also eat small vertebrates, eggs, fruit, seeds and young leaves. Termites and ants are a preferred food source in the dry season.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2021. IOC World Bird List (v 11.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.11.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Kemp, A. C. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sybhor1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Southern_Yellow-billed_Hornbill
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
