Ground Hornbill

Ground Hornbill

Bucorvus leadbeateri
Bucorvus abyssinicus

The ground hornbills (Bucorvinae) are a subfamily of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, with a single genus Bucorvus and two extant species. The subfamily is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa: the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill occurs in a belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia, with the Southern Ground Hornbill occurring in the south and east of the continent.

Ground hornbills 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, with the larger southern species being indeed possibly the slowest-breeding (triennially) and longest-lived of all birds.