Western Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus kempi
Fairly small, slim, long-tailed hornbill. Note the red bill, dark eye with a ring of black skin, and heavily spotted back. White patches on the wing and outer tail are conspicuous in flight. Found in savanna and woodland. Call is a series of clucks that starts with single notes, then becomes louder and more emphatic, with doubled notes. Similar to Northern Red-billed Hornbill, but separated by the black rather than pale bare skin around the eye.
Identification
Western red-billed hornbills are small hornbills in the genus Tockus. They have curved red beaks which are more orange on the lower beak and more bright red on the upper beak, with both ending with a dark orange colour. Their heads are greyish white and have black feathers along the back of their heads and neck. They have white plumage on their faces and large dark grey eye rings. Their sclera is dark brown and their pupils are black. Their wings are like all red-billed hornbills, with large and small circles of white feathers surrounded by black feathers on the exterior and white on the upper half of the interior and black on the lower half of the interior. They have long tail feathers that are black on the exterior and a greyish white on the interior.<p>
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tockus kempi
- Authority
- Tréca & Érard, 2000
- Order
- Bucerotiformes
- Family
- Bucerotidae
- Genus
- Tockus
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Usambara Thrush
Turdus roehli
A typical thrush with brownish upperparts and paler rufous-and-gray underparts. Also note the darker face, yellow bill, and striped throat. Found in the understory of montane forest and along forest edges. Occasionally bold, but typically quite shy, with only calls betraying its presence in the undergrowth. Abyssinian Thrush is similar, but does not overlap in range. Usambara Thrush gives a typical melodic thrush song, and calls include a "chk-chk" and thin "tseeep" notes.
Northern Shoveler
Spatula clypeata
Medium-sized duck; smaller than a Mallard. Huge, spoon-shaped bill visible at a distance and in flight. Breeding males have dark green head, white breast, and chestnut sides and belly. Females buffy-brown with large, distinctive bill. Chalky-blue upperwing. Forages by sifting through the water, often swimming in spirals in groups.
Upland Pipit
Anthus sylvanus
This large pipit has an expansive range, but is uncommon and sparsely distributed throughout most of it. Breeds in foothills and mountains, but descends during the winter. Large-billed and rather thickset, with an upright stance, fine dark streaks throughout with paler underparts. Also note paler brow. May be confused with Richard’s and Blyth’s Pipits, but it is more densely streaked and with a stouter and shorter bill.
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