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Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source ↗
Southern Red-billed Hornbill
Rooibekneushoringvoël · Tockus rufirostris
A slim hornbill with a long, slightly curved red bill and a speckled black-and-white back. It spends much of its time on the ground, flicking aside leaves and dung to find beetles, ants, and termites. Like other hornbills, it bobs its head and bows during noisy displays, calling loudly with a clucking 'wok-wok-wok' rhythm.
Log your Southern Red-billed Hornbill sighting — free →How to identify it
The long, slender red bill separates it from the yellow-billed hornbill, with which it shares a speckled body.
Listen for its call
A bobbing 'kok-kok-kok-kokkok' that runs faster and faster.
Where to see it in Kruger
Common in open dry woodland, especially in the hotter northern and central parts of Kruger, often feeding on the ground.
Did you know
Red-billed hornbills sometimes follow mongooses and feed on insects the busy little animals flush out of the grass.
Often confused with
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