Habitat and Diet
Southern Ground Hornbills can be found from northern Namibia and Angola to northern South Africa to Burundi and Kenya. They require a savanna habitat with large trees for nesting and dense but short grass for foraging.
The Southern Ground Hornbill is a vulnerable species, mainly confined to national reserves and national parks. They live in groups of 5 to 10 individuals including adults and juveniles. Often, neighbouring groups are engaged in aerial pursuits. They forage on the ground, where they feed on reptiles, frogs, snails, insects and mammals up to the size of hares. Southern Ground Hornbills very rarely drink: their range is limited at its western end by the lack of trees in which to build nests.
Southern Ground Hornbill groups are very vocal: contact is made by calls in chorus which can usually be heard at distances of up to 3 kilometres (1.86 mi). The calls allow each group to maintain its territories, which must be as large as 100 square kilometres (40 sq mi) even in the best habitat.
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