Scimitarbill

Scimitarbills (also spelt scimitar-bills) are three species of African bird belonging to the genus Rhinopomastus. They are often classified in the woodhoopoe family, Phoeniculidae; however, genetic studies show that they diverged from the true woodhoopoes about 10 million years ago and so they are sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Rhinopomastidae.

Scimitarbills
Common scimitarbill
(Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Phoeniculidae
Genus: Rhinopomastus
Jardine, 1828
Species

They are smaller than most woodhoopoes and their bills are strongly curved like a scimitar, giving them their name. They are mostly glossy black in colour with a few white markings on the wings. While other woodhoopoes are gregarious birds which gather in flocks, the scimitarbills are usually seen alone or in pairs.

They feed mainly on insects and other invertebrates, which they find by using their bills to probe into holes and crevices. They are acrobatic birds, well-adapted for clambering through trees. The eggs are laid in a tree cavity.

Species

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDescriptionDistribution
Rhinopomastus aterrimusBlack scimitarbillless markedly curved bill than the othersTwo populations, one extending from West Africa eastwards to Ethiopia and the other in Angola and adjacent countries.
Rhinopomastus cyanomelasCommon scimitarbillthe largest and longest-tailed species and the only one with white markings on the tail.Southern and Eastern Africa
Rhinopomastus minorAbyssinian scimitarbillsmaller than the others with a red bill rather than a black one.arid scrub from Tanzania north to Somalia.

References

  • Christopher Perrins, ed. (2004) The New Encyclopedia of Birds, Oxford University Press, Oxford
  • Ian Sinclair & Peter Ryan (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town
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