Hornbill

Hornbills (Bucerotiformes) are very distinctive birds, often seen in aviaries and zoos as well as on television nature program. Their generally large size, bold pied coloring and noisy manner make them obvious birds in many habitats. Besides all this though it is their oversized beaks often decorated with large casqued and their unusual breeding habits that make them truly fascinating.
There are 54 species of Hornbills in the world. They comprise the order Bucerotiformes which is sub-divided into 2 families and 9 genera. Hornbills are strictly 'old world' birds meaning their range extends from Africa across India and Asia to Papua New Guinea. They do not occur in the Americas where a similar ecological niche of medium sized species is filled by Toucans. Hornbills come in a large range of sizes from the small Dwarf Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus camurus) weighing in at 111 grams to the Great Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) standing nearly 3 ft tall and weighing 4190 grams.
Hornbills occupy a wide variety of habitat from the Namib Desert to the lushest S. E. Asian tropical rainforest.
They have been known to mankind for a long time and feature in many ancient customs and myths. Also, the distinctive features given to their skulls by their large beaks and casqued has resulted in these skulls being used in ceremonial head gear. In ancient Rome they were known as Rhinoceros birds.
Hornbills are the only birds in which the first two vertebrae (the axis and atlas) are fused together. They are also the only bird with a two-lobed kidney - all other birds having a three-lobed kidney.