Arizona Docent

ground hornbill - not on ground

August 25, 2012. I guess because of their name (GROUND hornbill) I always assumed they were flightless. The excellent SOAR bird show at this zoo proves otherwise. (Of the few bird shows I have seen, this was by far the best).
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August 25, 2012. I guess because of their name (GROUND hornbill) I always assumed they were flightless. The excellent SOAR bird show at this zoo proves otherwise. (Of the few bird shows I have seen, this was by far the best).
 
Excellent photo. Those white primaries are such a surprise :)
A full-winged pair would look so good in a huge aviary - but I'm not sure what other species you could keep them with safely.

Alan
 
Excellent photo. Those white primaries are such a surprise :)
A full-winged pair would look so good in a huge aviary - but I'm not sure what other species you could keep them with safely.

Alan

Would they actually fly that much though? I imagine even in an aviary they'd probably keep to the ground a lot.
 
I have seen them flying strongly in the wild. I think in an aviary with grassland, a pool and a rocky backdrop they would fly if scatter fed in different places (particularly if the pool was a canal across the width of the aviary). They would probably roost high up too.

Alan
 
I have seen them flying strongly in the wild. I think in an aviary with grassland, a pool and a rocky backdrop they would fly if scatter fed in different places (particularly if the pool was a canal across the width of the aviary). They would probably roost high up too.

Alan

I can almost picture it now :) I'm glad to be proven wrong.
 
In Linton there were green turacos sharing the big ground hornbill aviary, so that might be a potential mix in a large aviary.
 

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