Southern red-billed hornbill

It is usually treated as a monotypic taxon, but two additional subspecies have been proposed: • Tockus rufirostris rufirostris Sundevall, 1850 — bushveld regions of Transvaal, southern Botswana and southern Zimbabwe • Tockus rufirostris degens Clancey, 1964 — eastern lowveld • Tockus rufirostris ngamiensis Roberts, 1932 — northern Namibia to northern Zimbabwe T. r. degens is the smallest in size, while T. r. ngamiensis has browner plumage and a more distinct tail bar. The differences are clinal. ==Description==

The sexes are similar, but males are larger and heavier. Males also have somewhat longer bills, with the lower mandible coloured black to a variable extent. ==Habits==

The call consists of an accelerating series notes, kuk kuk kuk ... which ends in a crescendo of double notes, kuk-we kuk-we. Unlike other red-billed hornbills, Southern red-billed hornbills do not raise their wings in display. ==Range==

It is found from Malawi and Zambia to southern Angola, northeastern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, eastern Eswatini and northern South Africa (Transvaal and northern KZN province). It occurs in the upper Zambezi valley of Mozambique, but is mostly absent from the eastern lowlands. ==Gallery==

Red-billed hornbill (7827287244).jpg| Bucerotidae3 Wytsman, 1, Tockus rufirostris.jpg| Tockus rufirostris head, South Africa.jpg| Tockus rufirostris, Chobe NP, Botswana 1.jpg| ==References==