Southern Ground-Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), are such beautiful creatures. This bird has gorgeous eyelashes that encircle its eye, stunning beaks, and so much more. See for yourself!
I actually studied this bird in one of my ecology classes at Michigan, so here are a few “fun facts” I remember about this unusual bird!
-This bird species is currently considered “vulnerable”, because they are almost exclusively found in nature reserves and national parks across Africa. This means that if the parks are sold, turned into farm land, or harvested for lumber, they don’t live elsewhere, and they could then become endangered. These birds are just one of tens of thousands of species of birds, animals, and reptiles that are on the edge of chaos, which is why protecting our natural resources, and caring about the environment is so important!
-They are very strange breeders in that they require the help of other birds to mate. Without this, they cannot successfully breed. They do not breed very often (only every three years, which is highly unusual for birds), and not until they are quite old.
-The average lifespan of this bird is 70 years.
I LOVE nature, the outdoors, and appreciating the beauty of the world around me. I never use flash photography, I never bait or otherwise try to manipulate animals, and I always maintain a respectful distance when photographing any living thing. I studied Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Michigan, so I thought I’d add some science and substance to my typical blog posts! I hope you enjoyed this gorgeous bird as much as I did!
Thank you for reading!
xAnnie Fairfax
aka @anniewearsit
Kelsea says
Thank you so much for this blog post, I enjoyed it immensely! I adore hornbills and also think they are strikingly beautiful. I am a recent grad (Biology with a minor in environmental science) so it is always lovely to see a post like this, showing just how much people may have in common, interest wise 😀 If you have the chance and have not done so already, I highly reccomend “The Queen of Trees” which features a hornbill species. My research and main biological area of interest was entomology, so this program has some fascinating insect life included as well. You’ll never look at figs the same way again 🙂
Jessica Malinowski says
Sounds like I need to do some research!
Jessica Malinowski says
Such an unusual beauty!