Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are quite vocal, with a large repertoire of calls, one of which can be heard from a distance of 2km (Kalina 1988). Calls differ between the two subspecies. Bycanistes s. subcylindricus makes mournful hooting notes, whereas B. s. subquadratus makes quacking notes uttered at a higher pitch and frequency (Kalina 1988; Kemp 1995)
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are not globally threatened. They are still common in central and eastern Africa, though less so in western Africa. This species is currently locally abundant because it survives in degraded forest and open areas; however, forest degradation in Africa means that hornbills now occur in more open areas with few large trees, which makes them more prone to hunting..
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no adverse effects of black-and-white-casqued hornbills on humans.
Like all hornbills, black-and-white-casqued hornbills. with their unusual behaviors and impressive casques are interesting to many different groups of people, and therefore contribute to the success of ecotourism in Africa. They help to regenerate native forest through seed dispersal.
Positive Impacts: ecotourism ; research and education
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills mediate seed dispersal of rainforest trees, by defecating or regurgitating seeds (Kalina 1988).
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are mainly frugivorous, with fruit comprising 90% of their diet, 56% belonging to Ficus species. They forage by hopping from branch to branch in the rainforest canopy and reaching for fruit with the tip of the bill, which they then swallow whole. This species is known to consume over 41 plant genera (Kalina 1988; del Hoyo et al., 2001).
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills also consume birds, eggs, insects, bats, snails, lizards, mollusks, other small animal prey, mosses, lichens, and fungi. The carnivorous component of the diet is increased while breeding. These hornbills, alone or in flocks, occasionally raid weaver colonies (Ploceidae) or Egyptian rousette bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) roosts and have also been reported feeding on various species of galagos (Galago). They are frequently seen foraging alongside monkeys or squirrels.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; reptiles; eggs; insects; mollusks
Plant Foods: fruit; bryophytes; lichens
Other Foods: fungus
Primary Diet: omnivore
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are found in forests and savannas throughout West and Central Africa. The subspecies Bycanistes s. subcylindricus ranges from Sierra Leone and northeast Liberia across the Ivory Coast to western Nigeria, and the subspecies, B. s. subquadratus, ranges from eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic to Sudan, Zaire, Uganda, southwest Kenya, and northwest Tanzania (del Hoyo et al., 2001). An isolated population of B. s. subquadratus also exists in Angola (Lewis and Pomeroy 1989).
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are most commonly found in subtropical/tropical lowland and montane forests, where they reach altitudes of 2,600 m (del Hoyo et al., 2001; BirdLife International 2008). This species is less frequently seen in artificial landscapes such as plantations or urban areas, heavily degraded forests and dry savannas (BirdLife International 2008).
Range elevation: 2,600 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; rainforest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills have been known to live up to 31.8 years in captivity.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 31.8 (high) years.
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are fairly large, mainly black hornbills with white lower backs and rumps, upper and under tail-coverts, thighs, bellies, and vents. The central pair of rectrices is all black, while the rest of the tail feathers are black-based and extensively white distally. The secondaries and inner primaries are mostly white with black bases. This species has grey-tipped facial feathering, which gave rise to another common name, gray-cheeked hornbills.
Males have red eyes, blackish facial skin and a dark brown bill with a high-ridged, laterally flattened casque which has a broad cream-colored base. Casque pattern varies individually sufficiently to aid scientists in individual recognition (Kalina 1988). Females have a much smaller all-blackish bill, and the casque is reduced to a lower, rounded ridge on the basal upper mandible. Females have pink facial skin and brown eyes. Males are larger than females, weighing between 1,078 and 1,525 g, while females weigh between 1,000 and 1,250g.
Juveniles emerging from the nest have small bills lacking casques (Kilham 1956; del Hoyo et al., 2001). Birds less than a year of age have brown feathers on the forehead and around the base of the bill (Kalina 1988; Kemp 1995). Subadults have a high degree of vascularization in the area of the future casque. The facial feathers turn from brown to grey by 10 months of age (Kemp 1995).
The subspecies B. s. subquadratus is larger than B. s. subcylindricus and has more cream coloring along the casque and more white below (del Hoyo et al., 2001).
Range mass: 1,000 to 1,525 g.
Range length: 60 to 70 cm.
Range wingspan: 284 to 378 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; male more colorful; sexes shaped differently; ornamentation
Carnivores, apes, monkeys, snakes, raptors, and humans all prey on these hornbills. The placement of their nests high off the ground helps reduce much nest predation by carnivores, but raptors such as crowned eagles (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) commonly prey on them (Kalina 1988).
Known Predators:
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are monogamous, breeding seasonally from January to May in Central Africa and August to March in eastern Africa. Their breeding season coincides with local rainy seasons, so they can take full advantage of the abundance of fruit and arthropods at this time (del Hoyo et al., 2001; Kalina 1988).
Mating System: monogamous
Bycanistes subcylindricus individuals commonly nest in naturally formed cavities 9 to 30 m high in large (>3 m circumference) rainforest trees. Due to the rarity of these nesting cavities, there is a high degree of intraspecific competition for nesting sites. In order to protect their nest, pairs seal the cavity with mud pellets collected by the male. Inside, the female lays a clutch of 2 eggs, which are typically 49.3 x 37.4 cm and white in color with pitted shells (Kemp 1995). The eggs are incubated for 42 days while the male delivers food to the female hourly through a small slit, regurgitating numerous fruits, mammals, and insects. The male can bring up to 200 fruits per visit. Usually only one offspring is reared, with the chick from the second-laid egg dying of starvation. Newly hatched chicks have pink skin and open their eyes at 20 days of age. The offspring fledge in 70 to 79 days and can feed themselves by 40 to 72 days after fledging (del Hoyo et al., 2001; Kalina 1988; Kemp 1995).
Breeding interval: Time between breeding efforts is not known.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs during wet seasons, but can occur throughout the year.
Average eggs per season: 2.
Average time to hatching: 42 days.
Range fledging age: 70 to 79 days.
Range time to independence: 101 to 139 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Both male and female black-and-white-casqued hornbills care for, protect, and provide for their offspring during the nesting and fledgling stages.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
The black-and-white-casqued hornbill (Bycanistes subcylindricus) also known as the grey-cheeked hornbill, is a large black and white hornbill. It has an oversized blackish bill with a large casque on top. The female is slightly smaller than the male and has a significantly smaller casque. It is a monogamous species, and pairs nest in suitable tree cavities. The female usually lays up to two eggs. The diet consists mainly of figs, fruits, insects and small animals found in the trees.
Widespread and still locally common, the black-and-white-casqued hornbill is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]
Bycanistes subcylindricus is part of the Bycanistes genus of sub-Saharian hornbills which currently include a total of six known species that all share a black and white plummage and are mostly frugivores. This genus has recently been related to the Bucorvus genus, known as Ground Hornbills. Most of the species in that genus have a casque, which is larger in males than females. The closest relative to the black-and-white-casqued hornbill is Bycanistes cylindricus or Brown-cheeked hornbill which inhabits a similar habitat range.
Bycanistes subcylindricus is a moderately large bird of 60 to 70 cm with a wing span of 70 to 96 cm. It is recognizable by its black plummage for the higher body and wings alongside and white plummage on the lower body and wings with black feathers amongst the white feathers of the tail, particularly the top tail feathers and the base of the tail feathers. It has a yellow-brownish bill and flattened casque, which are enlarged in males. Females have a smaller casque and a black bill. The purpose of the casque is unknown for males, although suggested to be for sexual characterization. The black-and-white-casqued hornbill has very mobile eyes which is not a common trait in birds. This means that its eyes themselves can move in their socket, while other birds tend to have to move their heads to see. It is capable of displaying emotions through the feathers at the top of the head, which allows it to communicate its emotional state. While males weight between 1 kg and 1.5 kg, the females weight between 1 kg and 1.25 kg.
The black-and-white-casqued hornbill is found in wooded habitats in central and western Africa, ranging from western Kenya to Côte d'Ivoire with an isolated population in north Angola. The black-and-white-casqued hornbill is found mostly in Ivory-Coast, with smaller populations in its surrounding countries for West-African populations. The Central-African populations are mostly in Uganda and Kenya as well as Cameroon with smaller populations in Gabon, Tanzania and Central Africa. They are tropical birds that live in regions with high amounts of forests and is rarely seen in on flat lands, especially due to its arboreal nature.
The diet of the black-and-white-casqued hornbill consist mostly of fruits, which includes relatively small fruits or pieces of larger fruits. While some may consider this bird, like many other hornbills, to be limited to such food, it has been noted that they are very much capable of hunting small animals, including lizards and the eggs of other birds. Most of the frugal diet of the black-and-white-casqued hornbill comes from figs. The black-and-white-casqued hornbill does not consume water directly and seems to instead hydrate itself from the water contained in the fruits that represent most of its diet. It is capable of precise and delicate handling of edibles by using its beak skillfully in conjunction with its esophagus.
1.J.C.T. Gonzalez, B.C. Sheldon, N.J. Collar, J.A. Tobias. 2013.A comprehensive molecular phylogeny for the hornbills (Aves:Bucerotidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 67(2): 468–483
2.J. Del Hoyo, A. Elliot, J. Saragatal. 2001. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Barcelona: Lynx Editions
3.L. Kilham. 1956. Breeding and other habits of casqued hornbills (Bycanistes subcylindricus). Smith Misc Coll. 131(9): 1–45
4.R.W. Wrangham, N.L. Conklin, G. Etot, J. Obua, K.D. Hunt, M.D. Hauser, A.P. Clark. 1993. The value of figs to chimpanzees. International Journal of Primatology. 14(2): 243–256
The black-and-white-casqued hornbill (Bycanistes subcylindricus) also known as the grey-cheeked hornbill, is a large black and white hornbill. It has an oversized blackish bill with a large casque on top. The female is slightly smaller than the male and has a significantly smaller casque. It is a monogamous species, and pairs nest in suitable tree cavities. The female usually lays up to two eggs. The diet consists mainly of figs, fruits, insects and small animals found in the trees.
Widespread and still locally common, the black-and-white-casqued hornbill is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
