WHAT EATS A HORNBILL?

A Yellow Hornbill
What Eats A Hornbill? Photo:Frederic Salein

What eats hornbills?

What do hornbills eat?

Hornbills are tropical birds that look very much like the toucans of South and Central America.

The hornbill’s main predators are jungle eagles such as the crowned eagle of Africa. Crowned eagles also like to eat monkeys, and hornbills pay close attention to the alarm calls that monkeys give one another. Some types of monkeys make a special call when they spot an eagle, and hornbills have learned to recognized the monkeys’ “eagle call.”

When monkeys warn each other that an eagle is in the area, hornbills fly to safety.

As for what a hornbill eats—hornbills eat a variety of fruits, insects and small animals.


Photo of author

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.