African grey hornbill

The African grey hornbill (Lophoceros nasutus) is a member of the hornbill family of mainly tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. It is a widespread resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. The African grey hornbill has escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, USA, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the African grey hornbill in the fourth volume of his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name Le calao à bec noir du Sénégal and the Latin name Hydrocorax Senegalensis Melanorynchos. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognized by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson in his Ornithologie.

The African grey hornbill is now placed in the genus Lophoceros that was introduced in 1833 by two German naturalists, Wilhelm Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg. This genus was resurrected in 2013 to contain a group of hornbills that had previously been placed in the genus Tockus. The genus name Lophoceros combines the Ancient Greek lophos meaning "crest" with kerōs meaning "horn". The specific epithet nasutus is from Latin and means "large-nosed".

Two subspecies are recognized:

This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with a piping pee-o pee-o pee-o call.

Distribution and habitat

African grey hornbill is widespread over much of sub-Saharan Africa. It prefers open woodland and savannah.

Behavior and ecology

Breeding

The female lays two to four white eggs in a tree hollow, which is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. However, due to climate change, increased air temperatures can affect the reproduction of the African Grey Hornbill's likelihood to be able to hatch. There is only one narrow aperture, just large enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks. When the chicks and female outgrow the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, after which both parents feed the chicks.

Food and feeding

The African grey hornbill is omnivorous, taking insects, fruit and reptiles. It feeds mainly in trees.

Gallery

African Grey Hornbill (Tockus nasutus) male (11477408666).jpg|L. n. epirhinus, adult male, which has a tubular and forwards-protruding casque

African Grey Hornbill (Tockus nasutus) - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg|Male of the nominate race in the central Serengeti, with a ridge-like casque