''Tockus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of birds in the hornbill family,
Bucerotidae
Hornbills are birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia of the family Bucerotidae. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a horny casque on the upper ...
, which are native to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
Description
Hornbills in the genus ''Tockus'' are medium-sized African birds with triangular shaped curved bills. They can be found in
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
and
sub-tropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
n grasslands, forests and savannahs. They all have long tail feathers which are black on the exterior and white on the interior.
Species
The genus contains the following ten species:
*
Monteiro's hornbill (''Tockus monteiri'')
*
Red-billed hornbill
The red-billed hornbills are a group of hornbills found in the savannas and woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. They are now usually Lumpers_and_splitters#Biology, split into five species, the northern red-billed hornbill (''Tockus erythrorhynchus ...
group
**
Northern red-billed hornbill
The northern red-billed hornbill (''Tockus erythrorhynchus'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from southern Mauritania through Somalia and northeast Tanzania. There are five species of red-billed hornbills recogni ...
(''Tockus erythrorhynchus'')
**
Damara red-billed hornbill (''Tockus damarensis'')
**
Southern red-billed hornbill (''Tockus rufirostris'')
**
Tanzanian red-billed hornbill (''Tockus ruahae'')
**
Western red-billed hornbill (''Tockus kempi'')
*
Yellow-billed hornbill group
**
Southern yellow-billed hornbill (''Tockus leucomelas'')
**
Eastern yellow-billed hornbill (''Tockus flavirostris'')
*
Von der Decken's hornbill
Von der Decken's hornbill (''Tockus deckeni'') is a hornbill found in East Africa, especially to the east of the East African Rift, from Ethiopia south to Tanzania. It is found mainly in thorn scrub and similar arid habitats. Jackson's hornbill i ...
(''Tockus deckeni'')
*
Jackson's hornbill (''Tockus jacksoni'')
References
* Gordon Lindsay Maclean - ''Robert's Birds of South Africa'', 6th Edition
Bird genera
Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
{{Bucerotiformes-stub