Preen and Clean
- Like all birds, ground hornbills routinely preen to maintain their feathers in good condition. They have a special preening gland that is covered with a dense tuft of feathers that improves the application of oils used to clean and protect their feathers. Unlike other birds, ground hornbills also use the oils to cosmetically color their bill, casque and white feathers with red, orange or yellow coloration.
Walk Don’t Fly -
As their name implies, Abyssinian ground hornbills spend their time on the ground and prefer to walk rather than fly. When faced with danger these large turkey-sized birds will walk or run away and only fly when startled or when crossing areas with tall grass or dense vegetation. Abyssinian ground hornbills are extremely intelligent and very curious.
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