About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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23 Comments

on The Catholic Diet of the Southern Ground Hornbill

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Wow this is interesting. Amazing what the birds can eat.

Great pictures of the Ground horn bills.It’s amazing that the birds can eat such poisonous snakes.

It looks like the “food” is suspended mid-air as the hornbills are about to swallow.

Senior Digital Ranger

Quite a bird! Amazing photos to capture the varied diet. In all my married years my mate has never offered me a puff adder to eat!!!

James, I saved the horbill

James, I saved the horbill🤗

Gracious, a very varied assortment of insects, and a snake?! Glad I was not invited for dinner, but obviously lots of delicacies for the Horn Bills. Victoria

A regular Bushveld Buffet!

Master Tracker

Great blog, it isn’t always about the big 5 – I think all Hornbills are amazing

The Ground Hornbills appear to have an abundance of food after the rains all “live” and plucked cleanly and swallowed by the Hornbills. Do these Ground Hornbills feed on Carrion or dead beetles and dead reptiles ??

Digital Ranger

What a great sighting! Is it unusual to see the Southern Ground Hornbill on Londolozi? What made this the Catholic Diet? Did they end up going to church after they ate? “)

You are so on target James. It’s not about how many animals, birds, crocs, etc one sees during a safari, but to take time to really be in the moment.

Thank you so much for these very interesting pics. So glad I am not a female Southern Ground Hornbill. If Neil had thrown me a Puff Adder as a courtship gift, I would have hit him with whatever came to hand! We are all SO different in ways. Would much prefer Dark Chocolates with nutty fillings! Wendy M

James, your knowledge of birds is astounding! You should have a degree in Ornithology!!! Fascinating post. Wishing you and all there in that magical place a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.

Senior Digital Ranger

Really awesome photos James

An interesting blog James. I thought puff adders were venomous? I guess Mother Nature protects various wildlife from these things. The Southern Ground Hornbills are a very pretty bird. Thanks for sharing with us. Be well and stay safe.

James, Looks like you were having fun with your camera too – trying to get the perfect shot of the prey!

Agree on time…my best memories are when I slow down and sink into the experience with nature.

So very interesting! I agree wholeheartedly that you must take the time to really watch a bird or an animal to learn about them. If it is just a quick photo you want, you will never truly know the bird or animal.

Awesome images, James. Your take on their catholic diet is fascinating. They are opportunists, for sure!

Wowzers, watching the video of them eating all those different things was crazy, and I thought the one bird stole the snake from the other at first!

Great detective work James! These are truest remarkable birds and I’ve been enjoying the various and regular posts about them!

Many of the pictures in this series are excellent.
I tried to view the full size version but most links do not work.
Nevertheless, great work all around. Thank you very much for posting these wonderful pictures.

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