Home › All birds › African grey hornbill

The African grey hornbill (Lophoceros nasutus) is a bird found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and 3 more countries. Savanna and woods across sub-Saharan Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, reptiles and frogs and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the African grey hornbill lives

Savanna and woods across sub-Saharan Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs70%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs20%
• 🍎 Fruit10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the African grey hornbill

Recorded by bert de bruin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC996194. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the African grey hornbill

Where does the African grey hornbill live?

The African grey hornbill lives in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and 3 more countries. Savanna and woods across sub-Saharan Africa.

What does the African grey hornbill eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), reptiles and frogs (about 20%), fruit (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the African grey hornbill endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

• Malagasy sacred ibis
• Taita thrush
• Van Dam's vanga
• Shelley's crimsonwing
• Gola malimbe
• Amber Mountain rock thrush

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.