Southern Ground Hornbill
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2010) |
| Southern Ground Hornbill | |
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| At Lincoln Park Zoo, USA. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Bucerotidae |
| Subfamily: | Bucorvinae |
| Genus: | Bucorvus |
| Species: | B. leadbeateri |
| Binomial name | |
| Bucorvus leadbeateri (Vigors, 1825) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Bucorvus cafer (Vigors, 1825) |
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The Southern Ground Hornbill or cafer (Bucorvus leadbeateri), is one of two species of ground hornbill and is the largest species of hornbill.
It is a large bird, at 90 to 129 cm (36 to 51 in) long. Females weigh 2.2 to 4.6 kg (4.8 to 10.1 lbs), while the larger males weigh 3.5 to 6.2 kg (7.6 to 13.6 lbs).[2] It is characterized by black coloration and vivid red patches of bare skin on the face and throat (yellow in juvenile birds). The white tips of the wings (primary feathers) seen in flight are another diagnostic characteristic. The beak is black and straight and presents a casque, more developed in males. Female Southern Ground Hornbills are smaller and have violet-blue skin on their throats.
Its habitat comprises savannahs, woodlands and grasslands. It can be found from northern Namibia and Angola to northern South Africa to Burundi and Kenya. The Southern Ground Hornbill is a vulnerable species, mainly confined to national reserves and national parks. They live in groups of 5 to 10 individuals including adults and juveniles. Often, neighbouring groups are engaged in aerial pursuits. They forage on the ground, where they feed on reptiles, frogs, snails, insects and mammals up to the size of hares. Juveniles are dependent on adults for 6 to 12 months.
The other species of the genus Bucorvus is the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, B. abyssinicus.
[edit] References
- ^ "Bucorvus cafer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2010. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/142031. Retrieved 01 October 2010.
- ^ http://animals.jrank.org/pages/924/Hornbills-Bucerotidae-SOUTHERN-GROUND-HORNBILL-Bucorvus-leadbeateri-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.html
- Kemp, Alan (2003). "Hornbills". In Christopher Perrins (Ed.). Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. pp. 384–389. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
- Maclean, Gordon Lindsay. Roberts' Birds of South Africa, 6th Edition
- Zimmerman, Dale A., Donald A. Turner, and David J. Pearson (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. pp. 78–79, 397. ISBN 0-691-01022-6.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bucorvus leadbeateri |
- Southern Ground Hornbill videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
