Bird watching in Africa - Von der Decken's Hornbill, Tockus deckeni

Length: 35 cm
Wingspan:
Weight: 120 - 212 g
Longevity:
Distinctive Feature •
Similar Species • Jackson's Hornbill has spotted wing-coverts. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.
Female / Male • Femalesare smaller and have a smaller black bill and casque. Juvenileshave a small dark horn bill with yellow patches and spotted wing-coverts. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Von der Decken's Hornbill (Tockus deckeni) is a hornbill found in East Africa, especially to the east of the East African Rift, from Ethiopia south to Tanzania. It is found mainly in thorn scrub and similar arid habitats. Jackson's hornbill is often treated as a subspecies of it. It was named after the German explorer Baron Karl Klaus von der Decken (1833–1865).

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Tockus deckeni - Distribution

By edited by Harald Süpfle, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=673322

Description
This species is a small hornbill with blackish upperparts and mainly whitish underparts and head. It has a long tail and a long curved bill which lacks a casque. It is similar to the red-billed hornbill except for the bill colour and the lack of spotting on the wing coverts in both male and female.

The species shows sexual dimorphism; the female has a black bill, whereas the male has a red bill with a cream tip and a black cutting edge.

Length: 35 cm

Wingspan:

Weight: 120 - 212 g

Longevity:

Distinctive Feature

•

Similar Species

• Jackson's Hornbill has spotted wing-coverts.

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Female / Male

• Femalesare smaller and have a smaller black bill and casque. Juvenileshave a small dark horn bill with yellow patches and spotted wing-coverts.

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Female

Ethiopia - October 2019

Male

Ethiopia - October 2019

Listen to the Von der Decken's Hornbill

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Natural vocalization; song from a pair of displaying birds perched high in a tall tree in tall gallery forest along a small river.

Breeding
During incubation, the female lays two or three white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off with a cement made 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 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.

Captive breeding can be achieved by providing a small barrel or hollow tree with an entrance hole 13 cm tall and 7.6 cm wide. The birds will block off the hole once the hen is ready.

Food and feeding
Von der Decken's hornbill is omnivorous, taking insects, fruit and seeds. It feeds mainly on the ground and will form flocks outside the breeding season. In captivity the Von Der Decken hornbill will readily eat papaya, cantaloupe, blueberries, bananas, and apples.

Live food such as crickets and mealworms should also be offered daily. Small rodents are readily taken but should only be offered two or three times a week.

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

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