Bycanistes subcylindricus
Silhouette: Charles J. Sharp and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The black-and-white-casqued hornbill (Bycanistes subcylindricus), also known as the grey-cheeked hornbill, is a large black and white hornbill. It has an oversized blackish bill with a large casque on top. The female is slightly smaller than the male and has a significantly smaller casque.
It is a monogamous species, and pairs nest in suitable tree cavities. The female usually lays up to two eggs. The diet consists mainly of figs, fruits, insects and small animals found in the trees. Widespread and still locally common, the black-and-white-casqued hornbill is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Bycanistes subcylindricus is part of the Bycanistes genus of sub-Saharian hornbills which currently include a total of six known species that all share a black and white plummage and are mostly frugivores. This genus has recently been related to the Bucorvus genus, known as Ground Hornbills. Most of the species in that genus have a casque, which is larger in males than females. The closest relative to the black-and-white-casqued hornbill is Bycanistes cylindricus or brown-cheeked hornbill which inhabits a similar habitat range. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 5 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 7 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Réserve africaine de Sigean | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Abilene Zoological Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Ramat Gan Safari | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 4 | La Palmyre Zoo | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Chapultepec Zoo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Biotropica | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | The Abilene Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Zoo Lagos | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 211th most-seen of the 424 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.
January, April, June and September–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May, July–August and December, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-and-white-casqued 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.
7th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 60%), Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 40%) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 20%).
Same family: Bucerotidae
The closest relatives of the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill that you can see in Murchison Falls National Park (family Bucerotidae, Hornbills) are African Grey Hornbill (about 70%) and Crowned Hornbill (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (53 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.
