In June 2018 we were driving into Hwange NP in Zimbabwe, Africa and Judy spotted a large black bird with red on its neck and head moving along the ground some distance from the dirt road we were on. It was a southern ground-hornbill. We got a poor, out-of-focus, photo. Our driver told us it was very uncommon to see one. On the way back out of Hwange we saw another southern ground-hornbill off the side of the road that went into the bushes. I have wished for a better photo of it all these years.
When I learned that Kidepo Valley NP in Uganda had Abyssinian ground-hornbills that instantly became a bird I wanted to see.
We were in Murchison Falls NP eating breakfast at the Pakuba Lodge and I heard a visitor say that there was an Abyssinian ground-hornbill just off the grounds outside. I grabbed my camera which was with me and got a poor long-range photo. After breakfast, as we left the lodge, I got a little closer and a little better photo.
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| Male Abyssinian ground-hornbill in Murchison Falls NP near Pakuba Lodge. |
We started out from Pakuba on our first game drive and had been going awhile when William, our guide, got word that a lion had been spotted. I don't remember the word which was said, apparently it was the sector where the lion was spotted, but I knew instantly what it was and our driver was rushing forward to get us into that fray. However, as we were rushing along a large male and female Abyssinian ground-hornbill were on the road. I insisted we stop so that I could get photos - the lion could wait a minute. We did get to the lion, and got a view and some photos, but I told William, our driver, that the ground-bill sighting was the A+, not the lion.
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| A male. |
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| A female. |
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| An adolescent. |
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| An Abyssinian ground-hornbill male illustration from Birds of the World. |
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| Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. |
It is black with white primary feathers that are visible in flight. The adult male has a patch of bare blue skin around the eye and an inflatable patch of bare skin on the neck and throat which is red, except for the upper throat that is blue. The bill is black except for a red patch at the base of the upper mandible. On top of the bill is a short, open-ended casque that is also black. It also has long feathers that look like eyelashes that surround the eyes. They protect it from injury from dust, etc. The female is similar, but smaller, and any bare skin is dark blue. Juveniles are dark brown with a smaller bill and a casque just beginning to develop. It takes about three years for a juvenile to mature and it takes awhile to develop the casque, the bare skin color and the plumage.
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| The patch of skin on the neck and throat is inflated and the blue immediately under the bill is evident. The casque looks like a nose on a skeleton and the eyes, casque and bill look like they are strapped on the a head with the back of the head and hair showing. |
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| The female has the puffed out head and neck, it is just not as colorful (or as large). |
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| A close-up of this juvenile is scary. |
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| A range map from Birds of the World. It is found across a broad band of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Mauritania east to Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya. |
It is a ground feeder and can walk large distances to feed. It will eat snakes, including the poisonous puff adder, lizards, tortoises and other amphibians. It has also been documented feeding on small birds, such as francolins, and small mammals such as hares and squirrels. Also lots of spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, fruits, seeds and ground nuts.
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| Abyssinian ground-hornbills seen in Kidepo Valley NP. We saw enough of them that we no longer stopped to photograph them. |
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