Rotate: left click on mouse
Zoom: right click on mouse (PC) or command and click (Mac)
Move: left and right click simultaneously (PC) or shift and click (Mac)
Species Description
Bucorvus abyssinicus, the Northern Ground Hornbill, is one of only two extant species of ground hornbill. These birds are primarily terrestrial and have long legs for walking and running. They can fly when startled or when they encounter an obstacle. Northern Ground Hornbills are large birds, nearly 3 feet tall with a 6 foot wingspan. They are endemic to northern Africa and have large territories of up to 100 square miles. These birds are slow to reproduce and do not reach maturity until they are 4 years old.
Hornbills have bony protrusion of the upper jaw on the top of their skulls called a casque. The casque is not solid bone – it has many holes and is covered by the keratinous sheath that forms around the beak. Northern Ground Hornbills have a larger casque than Southern Ground Hornbills .
