The males will sometimes help with this process too. This is one of the strategies they use to keep dangerous predators like mongooses, jackals and snakes away from their eggs and young.Īnother interesting defense strategy used by hornbills during breeding is very unique and odd. When the pair have found a perfect nesting site in a tree, the female will enter this nest and close up the entrance with mud, droppings and fruit pulp. They can also use the abandoned nests built by other bird species such as woodpeckers and barbets. These birds usually make their nests in existing holes and crevices in trees high off the ground.Hornbills are usually monogamous which means that a male and female will pair up for life.When hornbills catch their food they jerk their heads back with their bills wide open in order for the food to be thrown down their throats.They mostly feed on berries, fruits, insects and small animals like mice, snakes and lizards. All hornbills are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals.This is thought to be an adaptation to assist them to carry their large bills. Hornbills are the only birds where the first and second neck vertebrae are fused together.Males are always larger than females and also display more colour in their feathers, bill and casque.The smallest hornbill is the black dwarf hornbill which weighs approximately 100 grams (3.6 oz) and the largest is the great hornbill which can weigh up to four kg (8.8 lbs).The hornbill family includes a total of 55 living species and embraces a wide variety of colours and sizes.All hornbills have a characteristic long, down-curved bills which are often brightly coloured and sometimes have a casque.These interesting facts apply to all hornbills, including Zazu seen in the Lion King. Their large casques on their beaks acts as resonator to amplify their calls. The trumpeter hornbill has a very loud call and can be heard for kilometres, often in the early morning and evening. They have a varied diet and have even been seen at Kariega attacking weaver bird's nests to get hold of their chicks for lunch.
#Lion king zazu skin
Their beaks are grey with a very large grey casque and they usually have brown eyes with pink skin around them. They have a black chest, head and back and a white belly. They are slightly larger than the crowned hornbill and can reach up to 65 cms in length. They can be seen hopping and bouncing around on the tree branches in search of food such as fruit from fig and yellowwood trees. Trumpeter hornbills are mostly found in the forests and dense woodlands at Kariega. In the 2019 photo-realistic and computer animated version of the Lion King Zazu has the correct black and white speckled feathers on his back, a white chest, red bill and yellow eyes. In the original animated version of the Lion King Zazu is depicted with a white chest, two-tone blueish grey feathers and a yellow and orange beak. Their casques, a hollow structure on top of their beak or upper mandible, are stocky and much smaller than their cousin the trumpeter hornbill. Crowned hornbills are often seen in flocks at Kariega and also like to perch on the tree euphorbias as seen in the picture above. This species has an orange to red beak and yellow eyes. They are a medium-sized bird and usually reach up to 50 cm in length. The feathers on the tip of their tails are white. The crowned hornbill has a white belly, black or dark brown back and wings. Kariega Game Reserve is home to over 300 bird species including the smaller crowned hornbill (above) and the larger trumpeter hornbill (below). The name Bucerotidae comes from the Greek word “Buceros” which means “cow horn” and refers to the shape of their beak. Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of birds found only in sub-Saharan Africa, tropical Asia and Melanesia. The two species of hornbill that you will see at Kariega are the trumpeter (above) and the crowned hornbill (below). There are 25 species of hornbills that live in Africa and most of their numbers are declining or, at best stable. While you are likely to see hornbills on safari, you won't see Lion King Zuzu at Kariega as these birds are not endemic to our area. The most famous bird in the iconic Lion King film is Zazu, a red-billed hornbill who plays the flying wise mentor to Mufasa and later Simba.
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