The home range of a recently established group of Southern ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) in the Limpopo Valley, South Africa

Little is known about Southern ground-hornbill (SGH) population ecology outside of large, formally protected areas where the largest declines in numbers have been recorded. A group of SGH was monitored over a period of 14 months by means of radio telemetry across privately owned land in order to investigate their seasonal habitat movements in this semi-arid, predominantly livestock-based environment. The authors also investigated seasonal fluctuations in invertebrate prevalence, as an indication of food availability and its influence on seasonal SGH group movements and foraging activity patterns. There was a clear increase in food availability during the summer rainfall period allowing the group to forage over a wider area, whilst winter foraging remained localised within their range. Kernel home range analysis indicated a marked difference in size between the summer (13,409 ha) and winter (5,280 ha) home ranges, with an overall home range of 19,372 ha, which is approximately double that of home ranges recorded that fall within formally and informally protected reserves.