Favoring dry savanna and mopane, they spend much of their time foraging on the ground. Their large, powerful bill allows them to feed on a wide range of food where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders, and scorpions. 

Breeding occurs between September and March. The hornbill family’s approach to nesting is novel and a masterly defense to predators such as snakes, mammals, and other birds. A breeding pair locates a natural hole in a tree, which is then lined with dry grass and leaves. The female enters the nest, sheds her feathers and seals herself inside with mixtures of mud, snails, old feathers, and seeds, leaving a vertical slit from which the male feeds her for the next 6 weeks. After this she breaks out and the nest is resealed by the now 3 week-old chicks, where they live for the next 3 weeks before they too break out.

 Below are photos of the yellow billed hornbill from our recent trip to Africa.