The eastern long-tailed hornbill is a species of bird in the hornbill family Bucerotidae found in humid forests of West Africa. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the western long-tailed hornbill with the English name "white-crested hornbill".
Region
Lower Guinea and Congo Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs in humid lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests from southeastern Nigeria and Cameroon east and south through Central African rainforests. It favors mature primary forest but also uses well-developed secondary growth, forest edges, and riverine gallery forest. Typically forages in the midstory and canopy, occasionally descending to lower levels at edges or fruiting trees. It is patchy but widespread where intact forest persists. Often associates with mixed-species flocks and sometimes follows primates to capture flushed prey.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
A slender forest hornbill with an exceptionally long, graduated tail and a shaggy white crest, it moves quietly through dense canopy. Like other hornbills, the female seals herself into a tree cavity during nesting, relying on the male to deliver food. It often follows monkey troops to snatch insects and small prey they disturb, while also feeding heavily on figs and other fruits. The species was recently split from the western form formerly known collectively as the white-crested hornbill.
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with undulating glides between trees
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small family groups moving through the mid-canopy. The female seals herself inside a tree cavity during breeding while the male provisions her and the chicks through a narrow slit. Pairs may duet and maintain territories in suitable forest.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include rattling cackles, grating croaks, and nasal yaps, often delivered in short sequences. Duets between pairs are common, with alternating notes carrying through the forest.
Plumage
Mostly dark slate-black body with a shaggy, elongated white crest and long, narrowly graduated tail often tipped pale. Underparts can appear slightly paler and the throat may show whitish tones. Feathers are sleek on the body but shaggy on the crest, giving a contrasting texture.
Diet
Feeds primarily on fruits, especially figs, supplemented by insects, spiders, snails, and occasional small vertebrates. It gleans arthropods from foliage and dead wood and will sally to catch flying insects. Opportunistically takes prey flushed by monkeys and mixed-species bird flocks.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the midstory and canopy of mature forest, along edges, and at fruiting trees in clearings. Frequently uses riverine forest corridors and tall secondary forest where fruit resources are abundant.
