African pied hornbill (original) (raw)

The African pied hornbill (Lophoceros fasciatus) is a bird of the hornbill family, a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. The African pied hornbill is a common resident breeder in much of equatorial Africa, from The Gambia to western Uganda and northern Angola. This is a bird of mainly forest habitats. The female lays up to four white eggs in a tree hole, which is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. There is only one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.