A Story about South Africa”s Bird of 2020
I have some memories of my first ever visit to Kruger when I was just a little girl. But the standout memory is that of a Southern Ground Hornbill – mostly due to my mom’s friend miss-pronouncing the name. The Ground Hornbill has therefore been one of my favourite birds for a very long time.
I came across these 2 just outside Satara on my first afternoon.
I had quite a few sightings of these birds throughout the trip. I hope it is a sign that their vulnerability status is less severe.
My favourite sighting was on my last morning at Kwaggapan. A family was digging around in a rhino midden.
Another one joined them. They then started talking to each other. It was so cool to hear this.
I really loved seeing so many Ground Hornbills. They always add a special quality to my Kruger trips.
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A Story about Noses
In Afrikaans the names for Hornbills all have the Afrikaans word for “nose” in them. I saw all 3 of the smaller Hornbill species in the Park.