The western red-billed hornbill is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from Senegal and Gambia to southern Mauritania and western Mali. There are five species of red-billed hornbills generally recognized now, but all five were once considered conspecific. Some authorities still categorize the group as Tockus erythrorhynchus with the remaining four as its subspecies
Region
West Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from coastal and inland Senegal and The Gambia east to southern Mauritania and western Mali, mainly in dry savanna and open woodland. It favors thorn scrub, lightly wooded parklands with scattered trees, and gallery woodland along rivers. The species also uses agro-pastoral mosaics and village edges where large trees remain. It generally avoids dense rainforest and true desert, keeping to ecotones and open habitats with available nest cavities.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
This small hornbill of West Africa was once lumped with other red-billed hornbills but is now widely recognized as a distinct species. Like other hornbills, the female seals herself inside a tree cavity during nesting, leaving only a narrow slit through which the male passes food. It is an important controller of insect populations in savanna landscapes and readily adapts to lightly modified habitats.
Temperament
social and alert
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, undulating hops between trees
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small family groups, sometimes loosely associating with mixed-species foraging parties. Monogamous pairs nest in natural tree cavities; the female seals the entrance with mud and droppings, leaving a slit. The male provisions the female and chicks until they break out, after which the family continues to be fed for a time.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are a series of clucking notes, chattering rattles, and sharp piping whistles. Vocalizations carry well across open savanna and are used for mate contact and territory advertisement.
Plumage
Upperparts gray-brown with white-spotted wing coverts; underparts mostly white with some dusky flanks. Tail is blackish with white outer edges and tips; head pale gray with a lightly streaked neck. Feathers are sleek and lie close, giving a neat, compact look.
Diet
Takes a wide range of arthropods, including beetles, termites, grasshoppers, ants, and caterpillars. Also consumes small vertebrates such as lizards and occasionally nestling birds, along with seasonal fruits and seeds. Will pick prey from the ground, probe leaf litter, and glean from trunks and branches.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along open ground in savanna, at woodland edges, and in riparian corridors with scattered large trees. Often forages near livestock and on tracks or recently burned areas where insects are concentrated.
