Northern Red-billed Hornbill

Red-billed Hornbill ( Tockus erythrorhynchus )

• T. erythrorhynchus damarensis, ( Shelley, 1888)
• T. erythrorhynchus kempi, ( Treca & Erard, 2000)
• T. erythrorhynchus ruahae, ( Kemp & Delport, 2002)
• T. erythrorhynchus rufirostris, ( Sundevall, 1850)

The Red-billed Hornbill ( Tockus erythrorhynchus ) is an African bird that belongs to the hornbills ( Bucerotidae ).

Appearance

The Red-billed Hornbill is 42 to 50 cm long, making it one of the smaller tokos. He, like all tokos a long tail and a long, curved, red bill, but without horn. In the male, the underside of the beak has a black spot. Otherwise, the same gender up to the smaller beak of the female. The underside is white, the upper body is brown-black with a white stripe at shoulder height. The wings are gray-brown with conspicuous white spots. The throat pouch and dark circles around the featherless yellow eyes are red.

Dissemination

The Red-billed Hornbill comes in sub-Saharan tree and bush savannas and in dry acacia and Mopanewäldern ago, partly in semi-deserts.

Food

The food consists of insects, fruits and seeds, which are usually added at the bottom.

Behavior

The female lays three to six eggs in a tree hole, which closes it with clay, manure and fruit pulp. Only about an inch wide opening remains, that is just large enough for the males food for the female and the chicks can by pass. The female moults completely during this time. Thus, the cavity remains clean, the manure is thrown through the opening to the outside. When the chicks are too large for the cavity together with the mother, this breaks the lock and leaves the cave. The shutter is then made ​​again and both parents feed the young.

Outside the breeding season Rotschnabeltokos occur in swarms. The call is a loud and continuous " tuok - tuok - tuok ".