- Horizocerus hartlaubi
Tockus hartlaubi
Identification
32cm. A small, blackish hornbill.
- Mostly black plumage
- Broad white supercilium
- Black tail with white tip
- Dark bill with red tip, dark casque
- Blackish bare skin around eye
- Flesh-coloured throat skin
Females are smaller than males, the bill is all dark and the casque smaller.
Juveniles are similar to females.
Similar species
Western Dwarf Hornbill male lacks red in casque, they have darker underside, and fewer white spots on wings when compared with Eastern Dwarf Hornbill.
Distribution
Found in tropical Africa from southern Sierra Leone and southern Guinea east to northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (west of the Congo River).
Locally common.
Taxonomy
Formerly placed in the genus Tockus.
Eastern Dwarf Hornbill and Western Dwarf Hornbill was formerly considered one species under the name of Black Dwarf Hornbill.
Subspecies
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Tall evergreen and gallery forest in lowlands to 1000 m asl.
Behaviour
Feeds mainly on insects, takes also spiders, small lizards and rarely fruit.
Feeds mainly in the subcanopy, sometimes following monkeys to take insects disturbed by them. Seems to use techniques of sallying out for food capture, may hover briefly.
Breeding
Little known about breeding. Nests in a natural cavity in a tree, the female seals herself in. Lays probably up to 4 eggs.
Vocalisation
Mostly quiet but whistling sounds have been heard.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Kirwan, G. M., A. C. Kemp, and P. F. D. Boesman (2023). Western Dwarf Hornbill (Horizocerus hartlaubi), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and N. D. Sly, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkdhor1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Western Dwarf Hornbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Western_Dwarf_Hornbill
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
