Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) is a medium-sized bird common to the savannahs of southern Africa. Locally known as “flying bananas”, the birds can often be found on the ground foraging for seeds, insects, or scorpions. Their conspicuous yellow bill is the best feature to distinguish the species from their close relatives, the African Grey Hornbill and the Redbilled Hornbill, which also occur in the region. I have photographed these beautiful birds in the Etosha National Park in northern Namibia during a trip in February 2007.
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Matt Travels 
Beautiful shot!
thanks a lot!! 🙂
Super cool looking bird, thanks for sharing!
yes they are really pretty – and even quite common and not really shy!! thanks for your comment!
I really like hornbills. I was quite surprised when I heard they build nests in holes on tree trunks. http://sukanyaramanujan.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/suspended-in-time-wordless-wednesday/ that’s an oriental pied hornbill from langkawi Malaysia
what a great photograph! congratulations!!
One of my favorites. So used to seeing them around campsites in southern Africa that I sometimes forget to sketch them. And when I do sketch them, I’m reminded of their dinosaur ancestors. If these birds were the size of an ostrich, they’d be terrifying!
yes – you would not like to come across one of those! You’d be picked up like a tiny insect today…
I love the bill of that bird against the muted background colors in the first image.Very attractive!
thanks a lot!
so viele schöne Vogel in Afrika! Tolles Bild!
danke schön!! das stimmt – Afrika ist ein Paradies fĂĽr Naturfreunde!
Reblogged this on A Namibian Travelling Namibia and commented:
I had to reblog this… the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill is not only my favorite Hornbill, it is also my favorite character in the wild. I love watching these guys!
I cannot look at them without thinking “Zazu” of the Lion King. Wonderful photos of a wonderful bird.
thank you for your comment! I really like them, too!