Tockus leucomelas
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) is a hornbill found in southern Africa. Yellow-billed hornbills feed mainly on the ground, where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. This hornbill species is a common and widespread resident of dry thornveldt and broad-leafed woodlands. They can often be seen along roads and water courses.
It is a medium-sized bird, 48–60 cm (19–24 in) in length, 132–242 g (0.29–0.53 lb) in weight and is characterized by a long yellow and down-curved beak. This beak is huge in comparison to its body and can account for up 1/6th of the entire body length. Male beaks are on average 90 mm long while female beaks are an average of 74 mm. Males are generally bigger than females but there is overlap between the sexes. The size difference of the beak is a fairly reliable way of differentiating sex in wild hornbills.
The casque that characterizes all hornbills is of a very modest size in the southern yellow-billed hornbill. It is small, but it covers almost the entire length of the beak in males (less so in females), and may give the impression that they do not actually have a casque. As in all hornbills, the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 8 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 12 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Zlín-Lešná Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Busch Gardens Williamsburg | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Brevard Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | African Dawn Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 163rd most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June, September and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Yellow-billed 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.
11th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 70%), Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 60%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (30 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.
