The Crowned Hornbill (Tockus alboterminatus) is an African hornbill. It is a medium-sized bird, with a length between 50 and 54 cm, and it is characterized by its white belly and black back and wings. The tips of the long tail feathers are white. The eyes are yellow; the beak is red and presents a stocky casque on the upper mandible. In females, the casque is smaller.
The Crowned Hornbill can be distinguished from the similar Bradfield's Hornbill by its shorter beak.
The Crowned Hornbill is a common resident of the coastal and riverine forests of southern (only the eastern coast) to northeastern Africa. It forages mainly in trees, where it feeds in insects (often caught in flight), small rodents and reptiles, seeds and fruits. This hornbill species can be seen in flocks, usually in the dry season. Four to five white eggs are incubated for 25 to 30 days; the juveniles remain with both parents for about 8 weeks.
Famous quotes containing the word crowned:
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalms, 8:2.
Man was kreated a little lower than the angells and has bin gittin a little lower ever sinse. (Josh Billings, His Sayings, ch. 28, 1865)