Magpie Toko
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Magpie Toko (Tockus fasciatus) |
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| ( Shaw , 1811) |
The African Pied Hornbill ( Tockus fasciatus ) is an African bird art that the hornbills belongs (Bucerotidae). A distinction is made between two subspecies, both of which occur in western sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2016, the Elstertoko population was classified in the IUCN's Red List of Endangered Species as “ Least Concern (LC) ” = “not endangered”.
features
The Magpie Toko reaches a body length of 45 centimeters. The males weigh between 250 and 316 grams, the females weigh between 227 and 269 grams. The gender dimorphism is only slightly pronounced.
Features of the nominate form
The head, the upper chest and the entire upper plumage are black. The feathers on the mantle and the wing covers have a metallic shimmer. The control springs are black except for the outer ones. The outer control feathers, on the other hand, are almost completely white, so that the tail looks as if it were black and white striped lengthways. The underside of the body is whitish. The arm wings and the hand wings are black. The wings of the hand are also lined with a narrow isabel color. The beak in the males reaches a length of 9 to 11.7 centimeters. There is a horn on the upper beak that ends abruptly just before the tip of the beak. The beak is pale yellow and then turns into a black beak tip. The color of the horn corresponds to the upper beak to pale yellow and has broad black longitudinal stripes. The lower bill is pale yellow with a dark red tip. The orbital ring and the featherless throat skin are dark blue. The eyes are brown, the feet and legs are brownish green to black.
The female resembles the male in its plumage, but has a smaller horn. The tip of the lower mandible is not red but black. The featherless skin of the throat is orange. Young birds have duller plumage and a smaller bill without a horn.
Characteristics of the subspecies T. f. semifasiatus
In addition to the nominate form Tockus fasciatus fasciatus , the subspecies Docks fasciatus semifasciatus (Hartlaub, 1855) is distinguished. This is a little smaller, the individuals of this subspecies weigh an average of 262 grams. The beak of this subspecies is more black than in the nominate form and the red coloration on the beak is either small or completely absent.
voice
The shouts of the Magpie Toko are high, shrill and whistling. In terms of onomatopoeia, they are described as "pii-pii-pii-pii".
Possible confusion
Belonging to the genus of forest hornbills belonging Schwarzhelm- and gold helmet hornbill have a similar plumage like the African Pied Hornbill. However, these two species are significantly smaller, have a smaller horn, a leaner build, and a less strenuous-looking flight.
The distribution area of the Elstertoko overlaps in the south and east with the Kronentoko , which belongs to the same genus as this. In terms of plumage, the Crown Toko corresponds to the Magpie Toko, but has a bright red-orange beak, yellow eye and an indicated white stripe above the eye.
distribution and habitat
The Magpie Toko is a widespread breeding bird in forests in a strip along the coast from Gambia in West Africa to Cameroon . In central Africa the distribution area extends to western Uganda in the east and northern Angola in the south. The subspecies TF semifasciatus occurs within this range in Gambia, southwest Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
The habitat of the Elstertoko is a wide range of tropical evergreen forests. They occur both at the edges of primary and secondary forests and even colonize tertiary forests. Starting from forests near rivers, magpie tokos also occur in savannahs and also use oil palm plantations. In parts of its range, the Magpie Toko is a common bird.
food
The diet consists of insects and fruits. The genera whose fruits are part of the food spectrum of the Magpie Toco include Musanga , Dacryodes , Morinda , Xylopia , Ficus , Heisteria , Coelocaryon , Guibourtia , Pycanthus and Trycalysia . They also eat the fruits of the oil palm and the very hairy caterpillars, which also eat these fruits.
Beetles are an essential part of their animal diets, they also eat ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars, winged termites and lizards as well as moths and their larvae as well as mice and lizards. Occasionally, eggs and nestlings of smaller bird species are also part of their diet.
Way of life
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The Elstertoko is in most of its range a resident bird, which can usually be observed in small family groups consisting of three to five individuals. Presumably, like other tokos, it is also territorial. At the edge of its range and in the parts that are subject to strong seasonal changes, groups of groups of up to 70 individuals arise outside of the breeding season . More typical, however, are groups of 10 to 20 birds. These troops wander far and wide to find food.
Like all Tokyo's, the Magpie Toko is also a cave breeder. Only tree hollows that are 9 to 24 meters above the ground are used. However, the breeding biology of the magpie toko has not yet been conclusively investigated.
The female lays up to four eggs in a tree hole, which it closes with clay, manure and pulp. Only a small opening, just big enough for the male to pass food for the female and chicks, remains. To keep the cave clean, the droppings are thrown outside through the opening. While the female sits in the brood cavity, she goes through the moult. The male provides them with food and mainly brings locusts and fruits.
If the chicks, together with the mother, become too big for the cave, the latter breaks the largely walled-up tree cave access and leaves the cave. The closure is made again and both parents feed the young.
attitude
Magpie tokos are occasionally shown in zoological gardens. They have already reached the age of 22 years there.
literature
- W. Grummt , H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds. Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 .
- Alan Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19-857729-X .
- Barlow, Wacher and Disley: Birds of The Gambia , ISBN 1-873403-32-1 .
Web links
- Lophoceros fasciatus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2014. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2014. Accessed September 30, 2016th
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Tockus fasciatus in the Internet Bird Collection
- Voice of the Magpie Toko on Xeno-Canto
Single receipts
- ↑ Lophoceros fasciatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved on 3 October 2017th
- ↑ Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . P. 116.
- ↑ a b Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . P. 115.
- ^ Voice of the Elstertoko on Xeno-Canto , accessed October 1, 2016
- ↑ a b c Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . P. 118.
- ↑ a b Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes . P. 119.
- ↑ Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . P. 548.