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  Profile

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  In flight

Hornbills

Trumpeter Hornbill

Bycanistes bucinator

• epic
• 43 km/h
• Least Concern

Its wailing cry sounds exactly like a human infant. Forests across East Africa go from quiet to alarming in seconds.

Population

Unknown/not quantified globally; BirdLife describes it as thinly distributed but locally common across a very large range (~6,520,000 km² extent of occurrence), with a decreasing population trend

Habitat

Subtropical/tropical moist lowland and montane forest, warm evergreen forests (especially coastal and riverine forests), dry forest, deciduous woodland and wooded hillsides, plus dry savanna at forest edges; occurs from sea level up to about 2,200 m elevation

Fun fact

The Trumpeter Hornbill gets its name from its loud, wailing, trumpet-like call ("waaah...waaah...") that closely resembles a crying child, and carries far across the African forest canopy; females also seal themselves into tree-cavity nests for roughly 90-95 days while incubating and raising chicks, molting their flight feathers during confinement.

Range

Eastern and southern Africa across 13 countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia (Caprivi Strip), South Africa (east), Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; non-migratory resident throughout

Diet

Omnivorous — mainly fruit (especially figs and Trichilia species), plus large insects, crabs, millipedes, small reptiles, small mammals, small birds, and eggs/nestlings

Size

0.615 m

Lifespan

20 years