Bucorvus Leadbeateri

Southern Ground-Hornbill (English Name)

DENDERA (Shona name)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Southern Ground Hornbill as vulnerable to extinction. Their distribution range has hugely decreased recently, due to persecution and habitat alteration through extensive farming, pollution, deforestation as it often results in the destruction of nesting habitats. Flooding and severe weather due to climate change has wreaked further damage. Mostly common in Southern and Northern Zimbabwe, it generally prefers grassland and savanna woodland habitats, ranging from montane grassland to extensive, tall stands of Zambezi teak (Baikiaea plurijaga), Mopane (Colospermum mopane) and Musasa (Brachystegia spiciformis) woodlands with sparse understorey. It is recognizable by its jet-black feathers, yellow eyes, and bright red throat. The fleshy part of the bird’s throat, called a wattle, identifies its sex: The throat of a male hornbill is completely red, whereas in females, a patch of violet blue. It feeds on a wide range of food, including small animals, locusts, frogs, snakes, lizards, chameleons, tortoises, squirrels, hares, snails, plants and birds. It forages in groups so that when one bird locates a prey it can signal the rest of the flock with a low bark.  It often finds prey by digging, especially in dung heaps. The birds move in pairs, sing together and hunt together. When the sun is about to rise, they are heard making the booming call that is loud and roaring like a lion’s roar “Hu Hu Hu Huhuhuhuhuhu;  Hu Hu Hu Huhuhuhuhu” and the elderly would say “Today the sun will be hotter, hear the Dendera singing”. The song signals a sunny scorching day. The group roosts in trees on rock faces, descending to the ground just before dawn and foraging for a lot of the day. The bird can fly up to 18 miles an hour and has an impressive wingspan that reaches about four feet across.. It is a monogamous, cooperative breeder, with a group consisting of a dominant breeding pair and 0-9 helpers, who are usually either adult males, or juveniles from previous breeding seasons. It lays 1-2 eggs, which hatch in the sequence laid, meaning that the one chick is 3-14 days older than the other chick. The younger chick is unable to compete for food with its older sibling, and dies of starvation when it is barely 3-4 weeks old.

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