Ground hornbill

The ground hornbills are birds belonging to the genus, Bucorvus, in the hornbill family, Bucerotidae. The two species are endemic to open savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa: the Abyssinian ground hornbill occurs in a belt from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and the southern ground hornbill occurs in southern and East Africa. The ground hornbills have sometimes been placed in a separate family, Bucorvidae.

Ground hornbills are large, with adults around a metre tall. Both species are ground-dwelling, unlike other hornbills. They are carnivorous and feed on insects, snakes, other birds, amphibians and even tortoises.