Western long-tailed hornbill | |
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T. a. albocristatus at Central Park Zoo, USA | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Bucerotiformes |
Family: | Bucerotidae |
Genus: | Horizocerus |
Species: | H. albocristatus |
Binomial name | |
Horizocerus albocristatus (Cassin, 1848) | |
Synonyms | |
Buceros albocristatus (protonym) Tockus albocristatus Contents |
The western long-tailed hornbill (Horizocerus albocristatus) is a species of hornbill (family Bucerotidae) found in humid forests of West Africa. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the eastern long-tailed hornbill (Horizocerus cassini) with the English name "white-crested hornbill".
The western long-tailed hornbill was formally described in 1848 by the American ornithologist John Cassin based on a specimen that had been collected near the Saint Paul River in Liberia. He coined the binomial name Buceros albocristatus. [2] [3] The specific epithet combines the Latin albus meaning "white" with cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed". [4] The species is now placed in the genus Horizocerus that was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser. The western long-tailed hornbill was formerly considered to be conspecific with the eastern long-tailed hornbill (Horizocerus cassini) with the English name "white-crested hornbill". [5]
There are two subspecies, [5] which differ primarily in the amount of white to their head and neck and the presence or absence of white tips to the wing-coverts:
The western long-tailed hornbill has a large range in West Africa, occurring from southern Sierra Leone, east to Benin including Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Togo. It is frequent in parts of its range. Although its population is difficult to estimate, it is not thought to be threatened. [1]
Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper mandible. Hornbills have a two-lobed kidney. They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of mainly insular species of hornbill with small ranges are threatened with extinction, namely in Southeast Asia.
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The great hornbill, also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2018. It is known to have lived for nearly 50 years in captivity. Due to its large size and colour, and importance in many tribal cultures and rituals, the Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.
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The eastern long-tailed hornbill is a species of bird in the hornbill family Bucerotidae found in humid forests of West Africa. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the western long-tailed hornbill with the English name "white-crested hornbill".