ExploreBirds

Tockus camurus

The Tockus camurus, also known as the yellow-billed hornbill, is a colorful bird with a big, curved beak. These birds love to eat insects and fruits and can often be seen in pairs or small groups.

Habitat: Savannas

Appearance

The Tockus camurus is a small hornbill with a predominantly dark, glossy body and a white belly. It has a distinctive bright red-orange bill, which is uncasqued, making it stand out from other hornbills with larger head structures.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAvesOrderBucerotiformesFamilyBucerotidaeGenusLophoceros

Tockus camurus

Interesting facts

The male brings food to the female through a tiny slit while she's sealed in her nest!

Their unique call sounds like a series of soft, accelerating 'tok-tok-tok' notes echoing in the forest.

These little hornbills often forage in mixed-species flocks, seeking out food together with other birds!

They have special neck muscles that help them powerfully swing their big bills to catch food.

Special abilities

Tockus camurus can fly nimbly through dense forest canopy because of their short, rounded wings that help them navigate tight spaces.

Tockus camurus has sharp eyesight that helps them spot tiny insects and ripe fruits hidden among the leaves from a distance.

Tockus camurus can seal their nest cavity with mud, leaving a small slit for food, to protect their eggs and chicks from predators.

Measurements & details

Length: 30-36 cm
Wingspan: 45-55 cm
Weight: 0.1-0.15 kg
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Top Speed: 35 km/h
Clutch Size: 2-4
Incubation: 24-30 days

Diet & Feeding

These hornbills enjoy a varied diet of insects, spiders, and delicious forest fruits.

Primary Foods

beetles
grasshoppers
spiders
berries
small lizards
mantids

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

eats

Sandpaper Fig

Ficus exasperata

Disperses seeds by eating its fruit.

hunts

Variegated Grasshopper

Zonocerus variegatus

Preys on this common insect.

eaten by

Cassin's Hawk-eagle

Aquila africana

A predator in its forest habitat.

eats

African Corkwood

Musanga cecropioides

Feeds on its fruits and spreads seeds.

Traits

Feathered

Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.

Social

Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.

Aerial

Aerial creatures spend a significant portion of their lives airborne, utilizing flight for various activities such as hunting, migration, or nesting.

Singing

Singing animals produce complex vocalizations, often for purposes of attracting mates, defending territory, or communicating within their species.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Savanna

This habitat trait denotes species native to savannas, which are grasslands with scattered trees, typically found in tropical or subtropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons.