Thunderbirds get a second chance

The southern ground-hornbill - an iconic species of the savannah biome that breeds only once every six years - is critically endangered. Sarie Marais-Nell visited the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project near Bela-Bela, where they are working hard to slow the decline in their numbers.

- Sarie Marais-Nel

Superstition in the northern parts of South Africa has it that S you place the feather of a southern ground hornbill in a dry river bed if you want to break a drought. Here, these charismatic red-and-black birds are called rainbirds. Some people would even warn you to remember to pick up that feather, later on, otherwise, it won't stop raining.

Seeing a southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) stalking through tall grass, and foraging, is an amazing sight. These birds grow up to 1 m tall and can easily weigh 5 kg.

And if you're wondering why some people call them thunderbirds, you should wind down your window the next time you encounter one somewhere in the north of the country, like in the Kruger National Park. Their distinctive booming call - a deep, resounding doo-doo doo-doo doo-doodoo - can come as quite a shock when you hear it for the first time. They use it to mark their territory and it can be heard up to 4km away.

Breeding and growing

The southern ground-hornbill is related to the noisy and much smaller grey hornbill and yellow- and red-billed hornbills. Adult southern ground hornbills have a red face and wattles, whereas the wattles of dominant females sport a patch of blue skin on the throat. These birds are largely carnivorous, eating spiders, insects, lizards, snails, small birds, venomous and non-venomous snakes, and even mammals as large as rabbits. They may use their large, strong bill to break open tortoise shells. During times of severe drought, they would eat the parasites on warthogs and nibble on carcasses in the veld. When meat is really scarce, they even eat fruit and seeds.