Bucorvidae – Ground Hornbills

Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri ©Ken Behrens Website

The Bucorvidae or Ground Hornbills are a family of the order Bucerotiformes, with a single genus Bucorvus and two extant species (though possibly including another genus with six extant species). The family is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa: the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill occurs in a belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and the Southern GroThey are large, with adults around a metre tall. Both species are ground-dwelling, unlike other hornbills, and feed on insects, snakes, other birds, amphibians and even tortoises. They are among the longest-lived of all birds and the larger southern species is possibly the slowest-breeding (triennially) and longest-lived of all birds.

It is currently thought that the ground hornbills, along with Tockus and Tropicranus, are almost exclusively carnivorous and lack the gular pouch that allows other, less closely related hornbill genera to store fruit.

According to the IOC the two species of Ground Hornbill in the family Bucorividae are:

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus
Southern Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus leadbetteri

Species Links
  • Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus

    Species Account
  • Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus

    Species Account
    Sound archive and distribution map.
  • Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus

    Species Account
    The Abyssinian ground hornbill or northern ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus) is an African bird, found north of the equator, and is one of two species of ground hornbill. The other is the slightly larger southern ground hornbill; the two are the largest species of hornbills found in Africa.
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri

    BirdLife Species Account
    BirdLife species profile...
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri

    IUCN Species Status
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri

    Species Account
    Sound archive and distribution map.
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri

    Species Account
    The southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri; formerly known as Bucorvus cafer), is one of two species of ground hornbill and is the largest species of hornbill. The other species of the genus Bucorvus is the Abyssinian ground hornbill, B. abyssinicus.
Number of Species
  • Number of bird species: 2

Fatbirder - linking birders worldwide... Wildlife Travellers see our sister site: WAND

Skip to content