Southern+Ground+Hornbill

The Southern Ground Hornbill The southern ground hornbill is a large South African bird with bright red skin over its face and throat that contrast with it black feathers and legs. Its eyes are pale yellow and it has a long, thick, and downward curved bill. While most of the feathers are black, if the bird flies, white primary feathers will show. There is a northern ground hornbill which is distinguished by its blue skin on the face and throat, but these birds are located much farther north in Africa, Ethiopia to Senegal. The southern ground hornbill ranges from Kenya to South Africa. They prefer a woodland or savannah habitat where they can forage the grasslands and sleep in the woods. They live in trees or upon high rocks if need be. There is typically two to eleven birds within the flock.

The reproductive rate of the southern ground hornbill is very slow with only one hatchling for every nine years. There is a dominant couple that will produce the offspring while the rest of the flock helps protect and raise the chick. The nests are typically large holes in trees or crevices in rocks. The female will lay two eggs but commonly only one survives. The chick is dependent upon its parents for the first year and will not leave the group for several year—if it ever leaves. The groups range from 2-11 birds with a dominant couple. The southern ground hornbill mates for life (50-60 years) and typically only mates again if their partner dies.

Southern ground hornbills are omnivores but typically eat like a carnivore. The feed on arthropods, amphibians, lizards, snakes, hares, tortoises, and more. They have also been known to eat carrion, fruit and seeds, and parasites cleaned off of warthogs.

There has been a drastic decline in the number of southern ground hornbills in recent years. This is mainly due to human. Some are indirect causes like poisoning, trapping, or flying into power lines. There are however some people that intentionally hurt the birds. When the animal sees its reflection, it attacks the reflection often breaking the glass in windows and being harmed by the glass and the home owner as a result. This has put the bird as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.