African Grey Hornbill

African Grey Hornbill

Lophoceros nasutus

Silhouette: Charles J. Sharp and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Pretoria

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

152 Verified sightings at Pretoria
12,910 In all 41 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Grey Hornbill

The African grey hornbill (Lophoceros nasutus) is a member of the hornbill family of mainly tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. It is a widespread resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. The African grey hornbill has escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, USA, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the African grey hornbill in the fourth volume of his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name Le calao à bec noir du Sénégal and the Latin name Hydrocorax Senegalensis Melanorynchos. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognized by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson in his Ornithologie. Linnaeus included a terse description of the African grey hornbill, placed... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:53

Saudi Arabia · 2026

© Mischa Keijmel · XC1141646 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:19

South Africa · 2023

© Marc Anderson · XC877635 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recording0:22

Senegal · 2023

© Valentijn Hermans · XC780622 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Waterberg Plateau Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
~70%
2 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
3 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
4 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
5 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~50%
6 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
7 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
8 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~50%
9 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
10 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~50%
11 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~50%
12 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
13 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~40%
14 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
15 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
~40%
16 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
17 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
18 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~40%
19 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
20 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
21 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
22 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
23 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~30%
24 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
25 South Luangwa National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
26 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
27 Selous Game Reserve 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
28 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
29 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~20%
30 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~20%
31 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
32 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
33 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
34 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
35 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
36 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
37 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
38 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
39 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
40 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
41 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~60%
2 Maiduguri 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~40%
3 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~40%
4 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~30%
5 Lomé 🇹🇬 Togo
~20%
6 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
7 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~10%
8 Lagos 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~10%
9 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
10 Dakar 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Antwerp Zoo 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
2 Liberec Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
3 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
4 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
5 Attica Zoological Park 🇬🇷 Greece In captivity
6 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
7 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
8 Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
9 Las Águilas Jungle Park 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
10 African Dawn Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
11 World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
12 Montecasino Bird Gardens 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
13 Zoo Lagos 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
14 Africarium 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
15 Aquatopia 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
16 terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Grey Hornbill in Pretoria?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Grey Hornbill sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 152 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 40th most-seen of the 177 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Grey Hornbill in Pretoria?

November

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Grey Hornbill in Pretoria on a given day, against about 10% in April and June–August, the lowest months. That is one of Pretoria's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain against almost none in July.

What time of day is best to see an African Grey Hornbill?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Grey Hornbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Pretoria the best place to see an African Grey Hornbill?

6th of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate African Grey Hornbill sightings, Pretoria ranks 6th at about 20%. The best odds are in Accra (Ghana, about 60%), Maiduguri (Nigeria, about 40%) and Serrekunda (Gambia, about 40%).

Which relatives of the African Grey Hornbill live in Pretoria?

Same order: Bucerotiformes

The closest relatives of the African Grey Hornbill that you can see in Pretoria (order Bucerotiformes, Hornbills and Hoopoes) are African Hoopoe (about 20%), Green Wood Hoopoe (about 20%) and Common Hoopoe (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the African Grey Hornbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Grey Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Pretoria (152 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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