The white-thighed hornbill is a species of hornbill. It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the brown-cheeked hornbill.
Region
West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
It inhabits lowland and foothill tropical rainforests from Nigeria and Benin east through Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the Congo Basin, reaching Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, with populations extending into Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Uganda, and South Sudan. The species favors mature evergreen forest but also uses secondary growth, gallery forest, and forest edges near clearings. It spends most of its time in the upper canopy and along fruiting tree corridors. Local movements track seasonal fruit availability.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The white-thighed hornbill is a large, canopy-dwelling African hornbill named for its conspicuously pale thighs. 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 seed disperser for many rainforest trees. Some authorities have treated it as a subspecies of the brown-cheeked hornbill.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
strong flier with deep, deliberate wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small, loose groups, sometimes joining mixed-species movements at fruiting trees. Pairs maintain strong bonds, nesting in large tree cavities. The female is sealed inside the nest cavity with a wall of mud and debris, relying on the male (and sometimes helpers) for food until the chicks are ready to fledge.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include deep grunts, honks, and cackling calls that carry far through the canopy. Wingbeats are loud and whooshing, often audible before the bird is seen.
Plumage
Predominantly glossy black with contrasting white thighs and white undertail coverts; white also shows in the tail and underwings in flight.
Diet
Primarily frugivorous, taking figs and other fleshy fruits which it swallows whole and later regurgitates, aiding seed dispersal. It also eats large insects, arachnids, and occasionally small vertebrates, eggs, or nestlings. Diet composition shifts seasonally with fruit availability.
Preferred Environment
Feeds high in the canopy at fruiting trees, along forest edges, and in riverine corridors. Will descend to midstory or edges when pursuing insects or visiting seasonally productive trees.
