- Tockus fasciatus
Identification
54cm. Mainly black, white belly and tail tip, long curved black and yellow bill has a medium sized casque. Sexes are similar, but the female has a smaller casque. Immature birds are duller, have a smaller bill, and no casque.
Distribution
Equatorial Africa from The Gambia to western Uganda and northern Angola.
Taxonomy
There is one subspecies, Tockus fasciatus fasciatus.
Habitat
Forests.
Behaviour
They nest in a tree hole and 4 white eggs are laid; the nest is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks. When the chicks and the female are too big to fit in the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, then both parents feed the chicks.
The diet includes fruit and insects.
Vocalisation
The call is a whistling pii-pii-pii-pii-.
