Running along the ground, hornbills pick up insects and fruit with the tip of their bills. Yellow-billed hornbills have a cooperative partnership with dwarf mongooses. Hornbills feed on insects flushed by the mongooses and, in return, the hornbills keep an eye out for raptors and warn the mongooses with an alarm call if any come near.
Yellow-billed Hornbill
Tockus flavirostris
Fact File
Where to see them: Wings of the World
Length: Up to 1.3 ft
Weight: 6 to 10 oz
Habitat: Forest, savannah, and shrubland
Diet: Insects, fruit
Can You Hear Me Now?The partially hollow casque, or horn, atop its bill, may serve as a vibrating chamber to amplify a hornbill’s call.
90-Second Naturalist 
