Tockus is a genus of birds in the hornbill family, Bucerotidae, that are native to Africa. The genus was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The genus name is derived from a word used by local people in Senegal for a hornbill.
Taxonomy
The genus Tockus was first described by René Lesson in his Traité d'Ornithologie (1830–1831). The type species is the northern red-billed hornbill (Buceros erythrorhynchus), designated by English zoologist George Gray in 1840.
Description
Hornbills in the genus Tockus are medium-sized African birds with triangular, curved bills. They inhabit tropical and sub-tropical African grasslands, forests, and savannahs. They have long tail feathers that are black on the exterior and white on the interior. Their diet is omnivorous, consisting of insects, fruits, and small animals. They play ecological roles as pest controllers and seed dispersers.
Breeding Behavior
Tockus hornbills nest in tree cavities. During breeding, the female is sealed inside the nest cavity with a plaster made primarily of mud and feces, leaving only a narrow slit through which the male passes food. This protects the female and chicks from predators during incubation and early growth.
Species
The genus contains the following ten species according to the IOC World Bird List:
- Tanzanian red-billed hornbill, Tockus ruahae – central Tanzania
- Western red-billed hornbill, Tockus kempi – Senegal and Gambia to south Mauritania and west Mali
- Damara red-billed hornbill, Tockus damarensis – southwest Angola, north Namibia, and west Botswana
- Southern red-billed hornbill, Tockus rufirostris – Malawi and Zambia to south Angola and Transvaal
- Northern red-billed hornbill, Tockus erythrorhynchus – south Mauritania through Somalia to northeast Tanzania
- Monteiro's hornbill, Tockus monteiri – southwest Angola to central Namibia
- Von der Decken's hornbill, Tockus deckeni – Ethiopia and Somalia to central Tanzania
- Jackson's hornbill, Tockus jacksoni – south South Sudan, southwest Ethiopia, northeast Uganda, and west Kenya
- Southern yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus leucomelas – southern Africa
- Eastern yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus flavirostris – Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia to north Tanzania
Conservation
Several species within Tockus face threats from habitat destruction due to deforestation and agricultural expansion, as well as hunting for subsistence and the pet trade.
