The Houston Zoo is home to a lot of animals, and some of them are often overlooked. This series of blog entries is focused on the animals that you may have missed on your last visit.
The okapi here at the Houston Zoo have proven to make good roommates – both okapi exhibits are multi-species, housing mammals, birds, even some reptiles. In one of these exhibits live two large, black birds with prominent beaks: our Southern Ground Hornbills.
Male Southern Ground Hornbill
The Ground Hornbills have large, powerful beaks typical of hornbills, but unlike other hornbills, the casque on top is reduced. Like many of their relatives, these birds have brightly colored skin on their faces and throats; the male’s skin is bright red, and the female is red with blue patches. As the largest of the hornbills, these birds are primarily terrestrial, spending most of their time on the ground. This is source of the “ground” in ground hornbill.
Southern Ground Hornbills are omnivorous, using their large beaks to catch insects, open fruit, and sift through dirt and plant material. They have even been seen bashing holes into turtle shells. Adults will carry multiple food items in their beak at once to feed a nest of hungry chicks.
They are found in Africa, in the southern and eastern parts of the continent. You don’t have to travel to Africa to see our ground hornbills, though. These birds live in the second okapi exhibit, if you are walking from elephants. We have a male and a female, and if you are especially lucky, you might hear the booming call they use to communicate.
Of course, no animal is guaranteed to be visible on every visit. Even if you know where to look, you might still miss the animal if it is off exhibit or hiding especially well when you visit. But keep an eye out at the okapi exhibit for these impressive birds on your next trip to the Houston Zoo!