Bycanistes is a genus of medium to large, primarily frugivorous hornbills (family Bucerotidae) found in the forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa. They have often been included in the genus Ceratogymna, but today most authorities consider them separate. All species in this genus have black and white plumage. The plumage of the sexes is similar, but the casque of the male is larger than that of the female.
Recent genetic data shows that Bycanistes is the sister taxon to ground hornbills, this clade having diverged from the rest of the hornbill lineage early on.[1] Bycanistes is thought to represent an early African lineage, while the remaining Bucerotiformes evolved in Asia.
The genus contains the following six species:[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bycanistes fistulator | Senegal east to Uganda and south to Angola | ||
| Bycanistes bucinator | Burundi, Mozambique, Botswana, Congo, Kenya, the Caprivi strip of Namibia and eastern South Africa | ||
| Bycanistes cylindricus | Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo | ||
| Bycanistes albotibialis | Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda | ||
| Bycanistes subcylindricus | western Kenya to Côte d'Ivoire with an isolated population in north Angola | ||
| Bycanistes brevis | forests of East Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa | ||