   #copyright

African Grey Hornbill

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

              iAfrican Grey Hornbill

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Coraciiformes
   Family:  Bucerotidae
   Genus:   Tockus
   Species: T. nasutus

                                Binomial name

   Tockus nasutus
   (Linnaeus, 1766)
   Distribution of African Grey Hornbill
   Enlarge
   Distribution of African Grey Hornbill

   The African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, is a hornbill. Hornbills are
   a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World.

   The African Grey Hornbill is a widespread and common resident breeder
   in much of sub-Saharan Africa and into Arabia.

   This is a bird mainly of open woodland and savannah. The female lays
   two to four white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off during
   incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There
   is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer
   food to the mother and the chicks.

   When the chicks and the female are too big to fit in the nest, the
   mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall, then both parents feed the
   chicks.

   This species is a large bird, at 45cm in length, but is one of the
   smaller hornbills. It has mainly grey plumage, with the head, flight
   feathers and long tail being a darker shade. There is a white line down
   each side of the head and one on the back which is visible only in
   flight. The long curved bill is black and has a small casque and a
   creamy horizontal stripe.

   Sexes are similar, but the male has a black bill, whereas the female
   has red on the mandibles. Immature birds are more uniformly grey. The
   flight is undulating. The similarly sized Red-billed Hornbill has
   uniformly grey plumage.

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

   This conspicuous bird advertises its presence with its piping pee-o
   pee-o pee-o call.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Grey_Hornbill"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
