White-crested Hornbill

White-crested Hornbill
Tropicranus a. albocristatus in Central Park Zoo, USA.
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Bucerotidae
Subfamily: Bucerotinae
Genus: Tropicranus
W.L. Sclater, 1922
Species: T. albocristatus
Binomial name
Tropicranus albocristatus
(Cassin, 1848)
Synonyms

Tockus albocristatus Berenicornis albocristatus
This article is about the African species. For the Asian species sometimes known as the White-crested Hornbill, see White-crowned Hornbill.

The White-crested Hornbill (Tropicranus albocristatus), also known as the Long-tailed Hornbill, is a species of hornbill (family Bucerotidae) found in humid forests of Central and West Africa. It is monotypic within the genus Tropicranus, but is sometimes included in the genus Tockus instead.

Contents

Taxonomy

There are three subspecies,[1] which primarily differ in the amount of white to their head and neck and the presence/absence of white tips to the wing-coverts:

Range

The White-crested Hornbill has a large range in Africa across Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda. It is frequent in parts of its range. Although its population is difficult to estimate, it is not thought to be threatened.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Bucerotiformes (Version 9.004)". www.zoonomen.net. 2008-07-05. http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/buce.html. 
  2. ^ BirdLife International 2004. Tropicranus albocristatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.