Lophoceros alboterminatus
Silhouette: Charles J. Sharp and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The crowned hornbill (Lophoceros alboterminatus) is an African hornbill. It is a medium-sized bird, 50–54 centimetres (20–21 in) in length, and is characterized by its white belly and black back and wings. The tips of the long tail feathers are white. The eyes are yellow; the beak is red and presents a stocky casque on the upper mandible. In females, the casque is smaller. The crowned hornbill can be distinguished from the similar Bradfield's hornbill by its shorter beak.
The crowned hornbill is a common resident of the coastal and riverine forests of southern (only the eastern coast) to northeastern Africa. It forages mainly in trees, where it feeds on insects (often caught in flight), small rodents, small reptiles, eggs, seeds and fruits. This hornbill species can be seen in flocks, usually in the dry season. Four to five white eggs are incubated for 25 to 30 days; the juveniles remain with both parents for about 8 weeks.
Gordon Lindsay Maclean, Robert's Birds of South Africa, 6th Edition ISBN 0-620-17583-4 Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Saitama Children's Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 4 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 5 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 6 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 7 | Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Inokashira Park Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 9 | Ōmiya Park Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 10 | Volière | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crowned Hornbill sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 195th most-seen of the 308 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Crowned Hornbill in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–May, July–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of Hwange National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 150 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crowned Hornbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
28th of 38
Of the 38 parks where we can rate Crowned Hornbill sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 28th at under 5%. The best odds are in Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania, about 60%), Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 50%) and Lower Zambezi National Park (Zambia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Lophoceros
The closest relatives of the Crowned Hornbill that you can see in Hwange National Park (genus Lophoceros, Whistling Hornbills) are African Grey Hornbill (about 40%) and Bradfield's Hornbill (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crowned Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (23 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
