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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 187th most-seen of the 316 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.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, June–September and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Virunga National Park's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
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.
6th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. 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%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga 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.
