Northern ground hornbill

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Northern ground hornbill
Northern ground hornbills

Northern ground hornbills

Systematics
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Hornbills and hops (Bucerotiformes)
Family : Ground hornbills (Bucorvidae)
Type : Northern ground hornbill
Scientific name
Bucorvus abyssinicus
( Boddaert , 1783)

The Northern Ground Hornbill ( Bucorvus abyssinicus ), sometimes called Northern Hornbill or Sudan hornbill called, is a bird art from the family of hornbills (Bucorvidae) and a characteristic bird of African savannahs south of the Sahara , from the west of Africa in the east to the. It and its sister species , the southern ground hornbill ( Bucorvus leadbeateri ), are the only representatives of the ground hornbill family. With its large beak with a “helmet”, the black plumage and the mainly bluish, slightly reddish coloration of the feathered face and neck in the male specimens, this bird can be easily identified and distinguished from its sister species with the striking red skin on the neck .

Appearance

Body measurements and weights

The northern ground hornbill reaches a body length of up to 100 centimeters, a wingspan of up to 185 centimeters and a weight of up to approx. 4 kilograms. Males and females differ only slightly, the latter are slightly smaller. It is slightly smaller than the southern ground hornbill.

plumage

Except for the white hand wings, which can only be observed in birds flying or cleaning themselves, the plumage is deep black. Around the eyes and on the upper neck the bird is feathered, with the females exclusively from blue to blue-black coloration, with the males also with reddish skin areas. The throat and upper neck are characterized by an inflatable throat pouch. The long, slightly curved beak is colored anthracite gray to black and shows reddish spots at the base of the upper beak. It does not close completely and shows a clearly visible gap in the middle. The horn-like extension or helmet at the base, which gives the birds their name, is somewhat more pronounced in the male and shows a rough frontal surface in front. Like its southern cousin, the northern ground hornbill has remarkably long upper eyelashes and the iris is dark brown. The legs are feathered up to the intertarsal joint , the featherless part of the tarsometatarsus and the feet are dark brown.

Confusion with other bird species

The northern ground hornbill can at best be confused with the southern ground hornbill , whose distribution area can be found south of the equator in open savannah landscapes . Both species are very similar to each other and only differ, albeit strikingly, in the color of their faces. The featherless parts of the face and neck of the southern ground hornbill are of a bright red color that can be seen from afar.

distribution and habitat

The northern ground hornbill lives in sub-Saharan Africa. Its distribution area extends from Senegal via Nigeria and Cameroon in the west to Sudan in east Africa. The southernmost expansion runs into southeast Uganda and northwest Kenya . Its habitat is extremely dry savannahs , light dry forests and grasslands up to altitudes of 2,500 meters above sea ​​level , such as the highlands of Ethiopia . He avoids dense forest and wetlands.

Lifestyle and diet

Female northern ground hornbill foraging for food

Northern ground hornbills live as solitary animals, in pairs in a lifelong monogamy or in small family formations consisting of a couple and their offspring. The birds are constantly on the lookout for food, and smaller groups of short duration can form. They walk slowly, with a noticeably waddling, staggering gait, across the ground, their main habitat, which they examine with their beak , preferably for large insects , spiders , scorpions , small turtles and lizards as well as small rodents and snakes . In small quantities they devour fruits and seeds and do not spurn any carrion . The birds, which mainly live on the ground, only fly up when there is danger, and they usually seek out taller trees. They are able to successfully drive away even big cats and birds of prey. Ground hornbills are considered sacred birds and useful animals in many areas of eastern and southern Africa because they eat snakes and grasshoppers , which is why they are rarely hunted.

Reproduction and development

Northern ground hornbill egg

The northern ground hornbill does not become sexually mature until around three to four years old. With the onset of the nutritionally rich rainy season , the mating season also begins. As cave breeders , they prefer nesting holes in hollow tree trunks ( baobab ) or in similarly protected places, which they line with dry grass and leaves . The female usually lays two eggs , which she incubates alone over a period of 38 to 40 days, being fed by the male. Both parent birds then care for the brood together. Because of the food competition between the chicks that hatch every four days , only the first and meanwhile stronger prevails - both young birds survive only in times of abundant food. After a nesting period of around three months, they leave the brood cavity for the first time, but are still looked after and managed by their parents for up to nine months and remain with their parents until they reach sexual maturity. Life expectancy in freedom is up to 30 years, in captivity it can be up to 40 years.

Systematics

The northern ground hornbill is one of the ground hornbills. The only other representative of the family is the southern ground hornbill ( Bucorvus leadbeateri ).

literature

  • Alan Kemp: The Hornbills - Bucerotiformes, Bird Families of the World. Oxford University, 1995, ISBN 0-19-857729-X .

Web links

Commons : Northern ground hornbill ( Bucorvus abyssinicus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files