Abyssinian Ground Hornbill

Description:

Large black ground bird, size of a turkey, or somewhat larger. It sports a large black decurved bill and black casque. Both sexes have blue face (not clearly visible in this photo), while male sports a bright red bare throat patch (some of it is visible on this click).

Habitat:

Seen in mountainous region of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, outskirts of Mekele, in an open grassland, not to far away from agricultural fields and habitations.

Notes:

Apologizes for the low quality of the shot, but that was my only encounter with this species, probably my first shot of African wildlife and the unique shot I managed of this bird... The shot was fired with Minolta camera using film rolls; and scanned later on. The date of sighting is rather approximative, as I lost my notes on Tigray visit...