Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus rufirostris)

20 inches long.

It is found from Malawi and Zambia to southern Angola and northern South Africa. It is common in savanna woodlands and larger trees, usually found in small flocks. Spends a lot of time o the ground.

Eats mainly insects such as beetles, grasshoppers and other larvae, but also fruit and bulbs.

During incubation, the female lays three to six white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off with a plaster of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks. When the chicks and the female are too big for the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall. Then both parents feed the chicks.

Photographed in Madikwe Game Reserve, North West, South Africa.