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What Are Hornbill ?
Hornbills are wonderful birds that live in the forests and savannas of Africa, India and Asia. They are classified as members of the Class Aves, in the colourful avian order Coraciiformes (that includes hoopes, rollers, bee-eaters and kingfishers) and placed in their own family Bucerotidae. More recently, they have been found so distinctive that they have been elevated to their own order Bucerotiformes and divided into two families, the Bucorvidae (ground hornbills, 2 species) and the Bucerotidae ( at least 52 species). Their closest relatives appear to be hoopoes, with the rest of the Coraciiformes more distantly related. Altogether there are at least 54 species and they range in size from 100 g dwarf hornbills to 4 kg ground hornbills. All are obvious in the habitats in which they occur and many of them are large, spectacular and noisy. People around the world find them fascinating, either in their natural state or as exhibits in aviaries. Wherever they are found, hornbills are excellent indicators of the health of their habitats and ideal figureheads for any conservation efforts. There are at least two good books that offer more detailed information on hornbills, The Hornbills. Bucerotiformes by Alan Kemp (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995) and the Handbook of Birds of the World. Volume 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills by Josep del Hoyo and colleagues (Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2001)
Most recent revision: April 2004
This page is maintained at the Transvaal Museum of natural history, Pretoria,
South Africa.
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