Southern Red-billed Hornbill

About the Southern Red-billed Hornbill

The southern red-billed hornbill (Tockus rufirostris) is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae, which is native to the savannas and dryer bushlands of southern Africa. It is replaced by a near-relative, the Damara red-billed hornbill, in the arid woodlands of western Namibia. All five red-billed hornbills were formerly considered conspecific.

It is usually treated as a monotypic taxon, but two additional subspecies have been proposed: Tockus rufirostris rufirostris Sundevall, 1850 — bushveld regions of Transvaal, southern Botswana and southern Zimbabwe Tockus rufirostris degens Clancey, 1964 — eastern lowveld

Tockus rufirostris ngamiensis Roberts, 1932 — northern Namibia to northern Zimbabwe T. r. degens is the smallest in size, while T. r. ngamiensis has browner plumage and a more distinct tail bar. The differences are clinal.

The sexes are similar, but males are larger and heavier. Males also have somewhat longer bills, with the lower mandible coloured black to a variable extent. It is distinguishable from other red-billed hornbills by the combination of yellow iris and pale orbital skin (pink to greyish), and the ample blackish plumage... Wikipedia →