''Bycanistes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of medium to large, primarily

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

hornbills (family

Bucerotidae Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible ...

) found in the forests and woodlands of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. They have often been included in the genus ''

Ceratogymna ''Ceratogymna'' is a genus of large, primarily frugivorous hornbills (family Bucerotidae) found in the humid forests of Central and West Africa. They are sexually dimorphic: males are all black, while females have brown heads and a smaller casqu ...

'', but today most authorities consider them separate. All species in this genus have black and white

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

. The plumage of the sexes is similar, but the

casque Casque is a French word for helmet. It can refer to: * Casque (anatomy), an enlargement on the beaks of some species of birds, including many hornbills *Hornbill ivory, the casque of the helmeted hornbill, collected as a decorative material * S. C ...

of the male is larger than that of the female. Recent genetic data shows that ''Bycanistes'' is the sister taxon to ground hornbills, this clade having diverged from the rest of the hornbill lineage early on.Woodruff, D. S. & Srikwan, S. 2011. Molecular genetics and the conservation of hornbills in fragmented landscapes. In Poonswad, P. (ed) The Asian Hornbills: Ecology and Conservation. National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Bangkok, pp. 257-264. ''Bycanistes'' is thought to represent an early African lineage, while the remaining

Bucerotiformes Bucerotiformes is an order of birds that contains the hornbills, ground hornbills, hoopoes and wood hoopoes. These birds were previously classified as members of Coraciiformes. The clade is distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and Melanesia. ...

evolved in Asia.

Species

References

* Kemp, A. C. (2001). "Family Bucerotidae (Hornbills)". pp. 436–523 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (2001). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. * Bird genera Taxa named by Jean Cabanis {{Coraciiformes-stub