31. Silvery-cheeked Hornbill The Silvery-cheeked Hornbill is one of the biggest of the hornbills in this part of Africa, though they are not widely-distributed: mostly in the east of the continent, in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The giants of the tribe are the Ground-Hornbills, particularly the monster Abyssinian: they are basically pedestrians, flying only when absolutely necessary. The Silvery-cheeked, however, is a good if rather heavy flier, and, as a forest dweller, surprisingly able to manoeuver through the trees. Like the Ground-hornbills, they are communal birds, living and feeding in family parties. The massive bill – like a pair of cattle horns set one on top of the other – and, on top of that, the extraordinary structure known as the ‘casque’ (which can grow to be longer than the bill itself) are the most striking features, of course. It gives them their slightly intimidating appearance as well as providing (I presume) a resonator for their “loud goat-like braying”. But by all accounts they are generally mannered (excepting the braying); and their attractive family values, together with the delicate silvery wash on the cheeks, though usually visible only from close range, must offer at least some mitigation. Birds of AFRICAMA House 66 Birds of AFRICAMA House 67