Wild Birds

Ground-hornbills

Ground-hornbills (Bucorvinae)

The Ground-hornbills (Bucorvinae) are a subfamily of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, with a single genus Bucorvus and two extant species

Ground-hornbills Standing on the Ground
Ground-hornbill Standing on the Ground

The subfamily is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa – Abyssinian Ground-hornbill can be found in a belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia, with Southern Ground-hornbill occurring in the south and east of the continent.

A prehistoric ground-hornbill, Bucorvus brailloni, has been described from fossil bones.

Description:

Ground hornbill are large, with adults around a metre tall. Both species are ground-dwelling, unlike other hornbills.

Some ornithologists raise the Ground-hornbill to family level on account of this and other distinctive features.

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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