Hornbill

Hornbill, common name for any member of a family of birds found in Africa and Asia, that have large but lightweight bills. In certain small hornbills the bills may be brightly colored, reminiscent of those of the unrelated toucans of the tropical Americas. In some hornbills the bill is surmounted by a large projection called a casque.

Hornbills are relatively large birds, 61 to 152 cm (24 to 60 in) in length, and are black and white, gray, or dark brown in color. They are noted for their peculiar nesting habits. The female nests in a hollow tree, the opening of which she (helped by the male in some species) plasters over with clay mixed with salivary secretions, leaving only a small opening. While the eggs are being hatched, the male hornbill feeds the female through the opening in the tree.

Most hornbills live in trees and feed mainly on fruit, except for the ground hornbills of Africa. These large terrestrial birds feed on small animals of all kinds; the more northern species, the Abyssinian ground hornbill, also joins vultures in feeding on carrion. The ground hornbills are the only members of the family in which the females are not sealed into the nest hole.

The largest member of the family is the rhinoceros hornbill, so named because its large casque is upturned, hornlike, at the anterior end. It inhabits the Malay Peninsula and several islands of the East Indies.

Scientific classification: Hornbills make up the family Bucerotidae in the order Coraciiformes. The Abyssinian ground hornbill is classified as Bucorvus abyssinicus and the rhinoceros hornbill as Buceros rhinoceros.

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