Yellow-billed Hornbill
A few days ago the image we posted of a Yellow-billed Hornbill (re-posted above) elicited quite a bit of interest. Hornbills, particularly the Yellow-billed and Red-billed varieties, are very common at the Marakele National Park’s Bontle Rest Camp, and they already came to welcome us as soon as we started pitching our tents soon after arriving. They’re used to having humans around and have very expressive faces, making for wonderful photographic opportunities. Enjoy this little gallery of other hornbill pictures taken in Bontle while we put together a few more posts about our recent short visit to Marakele and have a read here if you’d like to learn more about these charismatic creatures.
Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.
DeWetsWild 
Ons het die Trumpeter Hornbill in Eshowe gehad! Maak hierdie soort ook so ‘n lawaai soos hulle?
Hulle sit ook n lekker keel op, Aletta, maar dit klink baie anders! Luister hierna: https://xeno-canto.org/610219
Dankie Dries! Sal, luister. 😊
Daai snawel lyk nogal of dit geniepsig kan wees! En jy’s reg, hulle het nogal ‘n gesiggie met heelwat uitdrukking, ne.
Ek glo nie ek wil uitvind hoe hard hulle kan hap nie!
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Such interesting and beautiful birds. Thanks, Dries!
I always admire them for their character and appearance, Jane.
Quite a beak!
Ek bekyk altyd die snawel-kinders so, en wonder hoe vind ‘n kleine saadjie die pad van die skerp punt van die snawel na die lyf. Die tongetjie speel seker ‘n groot rol, Dewet?
Jy het heeltemal reg, Elsabe, en natuurlik is hulle baie behendig met die snawel self – wie het hande nodig as jy jou mond so goed kan gebruik!?
Ha! You caught me for a moment – I thought you had found a new hornbill!!!!!!
Now wouldn’t that be something amazing to add to my CV!?
Bosveld is nie Bosveld sonder hulle nie.
O absoluut, Ineke!
They are so serious looking!
And of course those long eyelashes just add to their dramatic facial expressions!
I thought I was seeing yesterday’s post again. Phew! I’m not going crazy. Still amazing beaks.
😀
I thought a second helping of these imposing beaks will be appreciated, Janet!
They are fascinating birds. That they came to welcome you was so surprising to me. Guess you cannot judge a bird by its beak!
Perhaps “welcome” is putting it too mildly, Lois. In truth they descend on you as you unpack your food from the car in the hope of snatching a quick morsel!
haha! Oh, I see–you were being very polite, Dries!
Wow! That beak!
And they put it to great use , Kathy!