THE Southern yellowbilled hornbill is in Zulu known as umKholwane and in Afrikaans, die geelbekneushoringvoel.
It is commonly called the banana bird due to its beak shape.
Found from Zululand to the north eastern parts of South Africa, its call is a loud staccato ‘wuk wuk wuk’, and it sometimes calls in chorus, a rapid, trumpeting ‘kok-kok-kok-kok’.
They enjoy living in bushveld, woodland, savanna and arid thornveld. Yellow hornbills are solitary birds, sometimes found in pairs and small groups. They run, foraging mainly on the ground but also in trees.
Rodents, insects, scorpions, centipedes and fruit and seeds are their food source.
Breeding takes place between September and March. The nest is a natural hole in a tree, lined with bark flakes.
The female is sealed in the nest by the male, incubating three to five white eggs for 24 days and is dependant on the male to bring her food. She leaves the nest after the first egg is hatched.
The nestlings reseal the nest unaided for another 20 to 23 days.
