Black and White Casqued Hornbill

We stayed two nights at the Nkima Forest Lodge on a wooded hill above the Mabamba Swamp on Lake Victoria southwest of Entebbe, Uganda. One of the most fun parts of the stay were a male and female black and white casqued hornbill that were in the trees around the lodge. Unlike most other hornbills I've seen, which were fleeting glimpses at some distance, these hornbills were close, unafraid, huge, loud and I saw them on multiple occasions in different trees and flying. 

A female and male. This photo, and the next one, were taken by my granddaughter, and better than the ones I took. 

It has quite a range. This range map is from Birds of the World. 

Birds of the World opines that it is best treated as a monotype, but states that there are tentatively two subspecies, Bycanistes subcylindricus subcylindricus and B. s. subquadratus. Subcylindricus is a West African bird, found in Sierra Leone, northeast Liberia and Ivory Coast to western Nigeria to the delta of the Niger River. Subquadratus is found to the east, from Nigeria, east of the Niger River, Cameroon, Central African Republic, east to South Sudan and south to north and east Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, southwestern Kenya, northwestern Tanzania and northeastern Angola. 

Male subcylindricus from Birds of the World.

Female subcylindricus.

Male subquadratus.

It is a black hornbill with a white rump, tail-coverts and belly, broad white trailing edges to wings, white-tipped outer tail feathers and gray-tipped feathers on the face.  The female's casque is much smaller than the male's. The male's casque is dark brown, broad at the base, then narrower and flattened as it rises, and projects forward. The illustrations show that the sides are wrinkled, which is harder to see in the photos. I spent time looking at the male's casque and trying to figure it out. In the early morning the sun would reflect through the lighter part of the casque which touches upon the forehead and it glowed. Some of my photos reflect that. I was very intrigued by it. A San Diego Zoo article on hornbills indicates that the casque is made out of keratin and is hollow or spongy. My guess is that the back portion of the male's casque is hollow. It may act as a sounding board to make the hornbill's calls louder. Males also use the casque to attract mates and project their strength and health to other males. 

Note in this photo, and the photo below, that the upper back part of the male's casque is glowing. It was very striking. 

The female's top of the head feathers were very odd, almost like horns or pigtails sticking straight up. I must not have kept the photos that showed it better, but the one below gives an idea. Also note that the birds are in the same tree as the photos above and the casque is not glowing. The sun had to hit it just right. 

The next photos show better lower body shots from the back and love-bird poses. 

The visit to the Nkimo Forest Lodge was worth it just for the hornbills. Such fascinating and interesting creatures and so fun to be able to observe them close-up.