Hornbills

African Grey Hornbill

The hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of species of hornbill are threatened with extinction, mostly insular species with small ranges.

I have split the birds photographed in its Genus where it belongs if there are at least 2 photographs. The genera with only 1 photograph are combined for now in Various

There are around 56 different species in this group of which I have photographed so far 99 different ones. In case of differences between male and female birds I have added both if available

Below you will find the genus in alphabetic order.

Click on one of the thumbnails below to see a bigger photograph.

Updated 10/01/2020

Genus Anorrhinus. Anorrhinus is a genus of hornbills found in the forests of Southeast Asia. They are social and typically seen in groups, but only the dominant pair are believed to breed, while other group members act as helpers. The genus contains 3 species

Genus Anthracoceros. The genus contains 5 species

Genus Buceros. Hornbills in the genus Buceros include the largest hornbills in the world with the largest being the Great hornbill. All the hornbills in this genus have a large and hollow bony casque on their upper beak that can be useful to scientists and bird watchers to recognise their age, sex and species. Their wingspan can be up to 1.8 meters and they have the largest wingspan out of all the hornbills. The genus contains 3 species

Genus Bucorvus Ground Hornbills. The ground hornbills (Bucorvidae) are a family of the order Bucerotiformes, with a single genus Bucorvus and two 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 ground hornbill occurs in southern and East Africa. The genus contains 2 species

Genus Bycanistes. Bycanistes is a genus of medium to large, primarily frugivorous hornbills found in the forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa. All species in this genus have black and white plumage. The plumage of the sexes is similar, but the casque of the male is larger than that of the female. The genus contains 6 species

Genus Lophoceros. Lophoceros are native to Africa. The genus contains 7 species

Genus Ocyceros. Hornbills in the genus Ocyceros are small Asian birds that have curved triangular bills and grey plumage, therefore being called "grey hornbills". They have black and grey eye rings and their eyes are usually dark with black irises like most birds. All of the species have different colored bills with the Indian grey hornbill having a dark greyish bill, the Sri Lanka grey hornbill having a pale yellowish bill and the Malabar grey hornbill having a more yellowish-orange bill. The genus contains 3 species

Genus Rhyticeros. Rhyticeros is a genus of medium to large hornbills found in forests from Southeast Asia to the Solomons. The genus contains 6 species

Genus Tockus. Hornbills in the genus Tockus are small-sized African birds with triangular-shaped curved bills. They can be found in tropical and sub-tropical African grasslands, forests and savannahs. They all have long tail feathers which are black on the exterior and white on the interior. The genus contains 10 species

Genus Various. All birds of this family with only one species photographed in a certain Genus

Bird Families of the World