Kenya and Tanzania are home to thousands of kinds of birds, most of which I've been side-lining lately in favor of mammals, so its time I showed a bit more diversity in our wildlife. Hornbills are a family of birds which fill the same general niche in Africa that toucans do in South America, but they come in a quite a variety of sizes. This red-billed hornbill from
Samburu was the size of a crow and lived on the grounds of the lodge.
In comparison, these Silvery-cheeked hornbills were closer to the size of toucans and quite a bit more sociable than the one above. They were one of the first birds we saw in Tanzania and this particular group was near the entrance to
Lake Manyara.
And finally, tipping the scales at closer to the size of a turkey, this Ground hornbill was part of a co-operative group that were picking from a nearby sausage tree (as shown below). We saw them both at
Lake Manyara and in the
Maasai Mara where they forage for insects, lizards and whatever else takes their fancy.
In comparison, these Silvery-cheeked hornbills were closer to the size of toucans and quite a bit more sociable than the one above. They were one of the first birds we saw in Tanzania and this particular group was near the entrance to Lake Manyara.
And finally, tipping the scales at closer to the size of a turkey, this Ground hornbill was part of a co-operative group that were picking from a nearby sausage tree (as shown below). We saw them both at Lake Manyara and in the Maasai Mara where they forage for insects, lizards and whatever else takes their fancy.
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