None of the 32 known species of African hornbills is listed under CITES, a global wildlife trade agreement, so their international trade is entirely unregulated.<\/p>\n
In the last decade, Arcilla, who is now president and research director at the International Bird Conservation Partnership (IBCP), teamed up with other researchers in Africa to learn how poaching is impacting the continent\u2019s hornbills. These studies revealed a puzzling pattern. African hornbill heads are in great demand on the international market, driving hunting, especially in West Africa. But it\u2019s not clear why. These birds are sold both dead and alive, online and offline.<\/p>\n
The hornbill trade isn\u2019t new. Asian hornbill casques \u2014 the soft, hollow structure above their oversized bills \u2014 have long been coveted, carved into decorative items, just like ivory, dating back to the 1300s. But until recently, African hornbills hadn\u2019t been documented in the international trade.<\/p>\n The continent\u2019s birds already face different threats. Poaching and bushmeat hunting have decimated hornbills in Togo<\/a>, Ghana<\/a> and Nigeria<\/a>. With deforestation and degraded forests already hammering these ecologically vital species, the growing international trade in African hornbills now adds to conservationists\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n Ecological importance of Africa\u2019s hornbills<\/p>\n Africa is home to half of the world\u2019s 64 known hornbill species. They\u2019re distributed across the continent, with forest-dwelling species concentrated in the west and central regions. Unlike their Asian cousins, whose ranges don\u2019t overlap, the African species often share habitat with each other. They\u2019re keystone species that are critical to regenerating forests because they disperse seeds widely.<\/p>\n Studies show<\/a> that each year, just two species of hornbills in Cameroon \u2014 the black-casqued hornbill (Ceratogumna atrata) and the white-thighed hornbill (Bycanistes albotibialis) \u2014 spread the seeds of one-quarter of tree species across hundreds of kilometers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been known as the \u2018farmers of the forest\u2019 for the longest time,\u201d said Lucy Kemp, project director at the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, who also serves as the Africa chair for the Hornbill Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority.<\/p>\n These birds are long-lived, surviving 15-20 years in the wild. They reproduce slowly, raising just one chick a year, so populations don\u2019t easily bounce back from losses.<\/p>\n Most hornbill species pair for life. The male plays a vital parental role by providing food for the female, who seals herself in a tree cavity with a narrow slit while raising her young chick. If the male dies during this period, it\u2019s a death sentence for the female and the chick.<\/p>\n While much is known about Asian hornbills, their African cousins are poorly studied<\/a> and often receive less attention than other charismatic species on the continent. Most are classified as species of least concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning their populations aren\u2019t thought to be threatened with extinction. But with little information about their status, Kemp said they should be listed as data deficient, as we don\u2019t know how they\u2019re faring in the wild.<\/p>\n Experts say they worry the unknown trade volume may spell more danger than we know for these species.<\/p>\n African hornbills in trade<\/p>\n Over the last century, hornbill numbers nosedived across Southeast Asia due to the trade in their casques. One species quickly crashed: In just three years, the helmeted hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) went from being near threatened to critically endangered<\/a>. To save them from extinction, all Southeast Asian hornbills were added to CITES Appendix I in 1992, which prohibits all commercial international trade.<\/p>\n While that intervention helped save the Asian species, the pressure shifted to the unprotected African hornbills. It\u2019s a phenomenon seen before: When Asian pangolins and rosewood trees received trade protections, their African counterparts declined precipitously.<\/p>\n Kemp called the current scale of hornbill trade \u201cterrifying.\u201d Their ecological and cultural values are \u201cbeing stripped for money,\u201d she added. \u201cWe need to be putting the brakes on before we fall down the precipice.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, Kemp, Arcilla and others published the first-ever study<\/a> mapping the international trade in African hornbills, providing some detail on its scale. They pulled hornbill trade data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and also scanned online marketplaces and social media for listings.<\/p>\n Their findings were startling. The number of African hornbills entering the U.S. with dried heads devoid of feathers, empty eye sockets, but intact casques, far exceeded imports of Asian hornbills that came in before they were protected under CITES. That trade is now increasing by about 3% each year.<\/p>\n Between 1999 and 2024, the U.S., which ranks as one of the world\u2019s largest wildlife importers, received 573 shipments of at least 2,619 hornbills. That\u2019s about 100 per year, all likely taken from the wild. A whopping 94.5% were African hornbills.<\/p>\n While 100 birds a year might not sound huge \u2014 unlike songbirds that are traded in the millions<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s disastrous for a long-lived, slow-breeding species. \u201cThey have all the characteristics for extinction,\u201d Kemp said. \u201cThis level of offtake is unsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n The study found that about 45% of the hornbills entering the U.S. were shipped alive; more than half were shipped dead, either whole or in parts. Hornbill heads were the most in-demand product, followed by their large casques and black-and-white flight feathers.<\/p>\n The study also tracked the trade of ground-dwelling species such as the vulnerable Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus). About 75 birds were seized in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East since 2022. Bangladesh greenlit the import of hundreds of African hornbills from 2021-2022 that were sourced from Mali, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. India serves as a trade hub for many West African birds<\/a> and has become an emerging hotspot for African hornbills, Kemp said.<\/p>\n In March 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service seized 128 hornbill heads<\/a>, along with primates and other protected wildlife. The alleged trafficker arrested in the seizure claimed to have purchased the dead animals from markets in Cameroon to sell in Nigeria.<\/p>\n Within Africa, hornbills are part of the fetish trade: they\u2019re thought to have spiritual, magical or medicinal powers. Across many African cultures, these birds are associated with a wide range of cultural beliefs<\/a>, thought to protect against evil spirits, lightning and drought, and believed to help people foresee the future. Others consider them to be a bad omen, signifying death, loss and destruction.<\/p>\n The study found that Cameroon exported one-quarter of all hornbills coming into the U.S., followed by Tanzania, Senegal, Guinea, South Africa, the DRC and Zimbabwe. East African birds dominated the trade between 1999 and 2004, but the trend then shifted to Central African hornbills. Since 2021, most have come from Cameroon and the DRC.<\/p>\n Cameroon has a thriving illegal bushmeat trade<\/a>, where mammals, reptiles and birds, including hornbills, are widely sold. In a 2024 study<\/a>, Arcilla and her colleagues found that just six years earlier, hunters sold whole birds, which were eaten or used as fetishes. Now, nine out of 10 hunters hunt hornbills strictly for their heads, targeting species with large casques.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the middlemen and traders further along the supply chain who make the real money, not the hunters in local communities, said Colin Jensen, a research biologist who worked in Cameroon<\/a> with Arcilla. His surveys found species with large casques were vanishing from the forests.<\/p>\n Hunters, too, recognize that the birds are growing rare. When researchers interviewed them, they said they now need to travel greater distances to find hornbills to kill.<\/p>\n Between 2008 and 2023, China and Indonesia topped the list of countries with the most seizures of illegally trafficked Asian hornbills. The researchers say these countries may also be importing African hornbills since the consumers are the same, although the exact scale of trade into Asia is unknown.<\/p>\n Anya Dabite, a Cameroonian conservationist who also collaborated with Arcilla, said he believes transnational wildlife traders, mostly from China, are behind the demand for hornbill heads in Cameroon. He said hunters had told him they were handsomely paid by Chinese buyers to hunt these birds. As China-Cameroon trade relations have strengthened<\/a> in recent years, there\u2019s been an increasing presence of Chinese nationals in the country.<\/p>\n There\u2019s circumstantial evidence that points to demand from China. Dabite\u2019s hornbill surveys around Mount Nlonako Wildlife Reserve, which he said has a significant Chinese presence, showed a marked decline in hornbill species with large casques. In contrast, he said, areas around Ebo Wildlife Reserve, which doesn\u2019t have as many Chinese residents, has a healthy population of the birds.<\/p>\n Online trade presents a worrying trend<\/p>\n Hornbills are increasingly being sold online, with listings on eBay, Etsy, Facebook and Instagram, despite these platforms touting policies explicitly banning the sale of wildlife or their parts and products. Arcilla and her colleagues spotted 505 listings, including 824 African hornbills from 29 species, on various online marketplaces between 2010 and 2024.<\/p>\n Most of the advertised products were hornbill heads, but live birds, taxidermied specimens, skeletons, skins, feathers, snuff bottles and feather fans were also recorded. Nearly 70% of the advertised birds were African forest hornbills. Sellers pointed out that international trade isn\u2019t restricted since these species aren\u2019t listed on CITES, so prospective buyers needn\u2019t worry about the legality of their purchase.<\/p>\n Most of the advertised products were hornbill heads, but live birds, taxidermied specimens, skeletons, skins, feathers, snuff bottles and feather fans were also recorded. Nearly 70% of the advertised birds were African forest hornbills. Sellers pointed out that international trade isn\u2019t restricted since these species aren\u2019t listed on CITES, so prospective buyers needn\u2019t worry about the legality of their purchase.<\/p>\n Live birds sold online were often labeled as \u201ccaptive bred.\u201d That\u2019s unlikely, researchers say, as hornbills don\u2019t survive or breed well in captivity, and there aren\u2019t any known breeding centers in Africa.<\/p>\n In recent years, the online trade in wildlife<\/a> has continued to skyrocket<\/a>, threatening many species. \u201c[Online] market demand from international buyers is potentially unlimited and can thus easily deplete and wipe out local hornbill populations, many of which are known or suspected to be declining,\u201d said Shan Su, a researcher from IBPC and co-author of a study on the hornbill trade in Cameroon.<\/p>\n Experts say African hornbills urgently need protection<\/p>\n As the data trickle in about this trade, experts say these ecologically vital birds must be protected. \u201cAdding African hornbills to CITES would be a crucial step in combating the growing trade,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cIt would introduce much-needed oversight and provide a legal framework to monitor and regulate international trade.\u201d A CITES listing has been a lifeline for many species, including pangolins, elephants and Asian hornbills.<\/p>\n Eight West African countries have submitted a joint proposal<\/a> to list all African forest hornbill species (from the genera Ceratogymna and Bycanistes) on CITES Appendix II. This proposal will be considered at the upcoming CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) in November, where 185 countries will vote whether to regulate commercial trade in certain species. An Appendix II listing wouldn\u2019t prohibit international trade, but would limit it, requiring permits that would be recorded in the CITES database. This would help scientists analyze the scale of the legal trade.<\/p>\n Researchers say this alone won\u2019t save hornbills, and that the countries where these birds are found must regulate hunting and better monitor populations. Currently, only Senegal and Djibouti ban hornbill hunting; 12 others require permits for hunting, while 13 offer no legal protection at all. It\u2019s important to train and empower local researchers to study hornbills and to fund such research, conservationists say.<\/p>\n Online marketplaces and social media platforms \u2014 emerging hubs<\/a> of the wildlife trade<\/a> \u2014 must take greater responsibility for the content on their sites. Rather than depending on users to report wildlife listings, these companies need to step up efforts to detect wildlife listings and take them down, Su said. Increased international cooperation and enforcement of existing regulations are critical, as is better training for customs officials tasked with intercepting wildlife products, conservationists say.<\/p>\n But in the short term, Kemp said she\u2019s pinning her hopes on the birds receiving CITES protection. If the proposal isn\u2019t ratified, it will be a long wait before the next meeting. That could prove tragic for these birds.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we fail at this CoP\u2026 I\u2019m worried four years from now, it\u2019s too late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Banner image: The yellow-casqued hornbill, a vulnerable species, was one of the most widely traded African hornbill species. Conservationists say the current levels of sales are unsustainable for a bird that\u2019s long-lived, reproduces slowly, and plays a crucial role in Africa\u2019s forests as a key seed disperser.<\/p>\n Spoorthy Raman is a staff writer at Mongabay, covering all things wild with a special focus on lesser-known wildlife, the wildlife trade, and environmental crime.<\/p>\n New database unveils the role of Asian hornbills as forest seed dispersers<\/a><\/p>\n Study shines light, and raises alarm, over online trade of West African birds<\/a><\/p>\n Citations:<\/p>\n Trail, P. W. (2007). African hornbills: Keystone species threatened by habitat loss, hunting and international trade. Ostrich, 78(3), 609-613. doi:10.2989\/ostrich.2007.78.3.7.318<\/a><\/p>\n Whitney, K. D., & Smith, T. B. (1998). Habitat use and resource tracking by African Ceratogymna hornbills: Implications for seed dispersal and forest conservation. Animal Conservation, 1(2), 107-117. doi:10.1111\/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00018.x<\/a><\/p>\n Coetzee, H., Nell, W., & Van Rensburg, L. (2014). An exploration of cultural beliefs and practices across the Southern Ground-Hornbill\u2019s range in Africa. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 10(1). doi:10.1186\/1746-4269-10-28<\/a><\/p>\n Lado, T. F., Charles, F. P., Morjan, M. D., Demaya, G. S., Dickson, J. L., Gordon, S. A., \u2026 Luiselli, L. (2025). Conservation status and threat assessment of the charismatic African hornbills: A conceptual framework and implications for conservation. Biodiversity, 26(3), 200-213. doi:10.1080\/14888386.2025.2488924<\/a><\/p>\n Tinsman, J., Woodward, A., Su, S., Skinner, D. H., Kemp, L. V., Abeh, A. D., \u2026 Oswald Terrill, J. A. (2025). Intense international exploitation of African hornbills necessitates urgent conservation measures, including CITES listing. Biological Conservation, 308, 111105. doi:10.1016\/j.biocon.2025.111105<\/a><\/p>\n Kalra, S., Davies, A., Martin, R. O., & Poonia, A. (2023). Insights from the media into the bird trade in India: An analysis of reported seizures. Oryx, 58(1), 69-77. doi:10.1017\/s0030605322001594<\/a><\/p>\n Su, S., Guetse, F., & Arcilla, N. (2024). A price on their heads? Assessing foreign demand as a driver of hornbill hunting in Cameroon. Global Ecology and Conservation, 51, e02905. doi:10.1016\/j.gecco.2024.e02905<\/a><\/p>\n Majiteu, M., Tamungang, S. A., Fotang, C., Tache, J. I. T., & Riegert, J. (2024). Wild animal trade in Cameroon: An insight into species involved and conservation implications in the western Highlands. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 5(2). doi:10.1002\/2688-8319.12344<\/a><\/p>\n ![\"Black-casqued](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/bch.jpg\")
Black-casqued hornbills are one of the most traded species from Cameroon. Although the species is classified as Least Concern, hornbill biologists say studies show the trade is devastating the numbers, past surveys have been patchy and the populations must be reassessed. Image courtesy of billyschofield via iNaturalist<\/a> (CC-BY-NC).<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/hhb.jpeg\")
The helmeted hornbill, a Southeast Asian species, has gone from near-threatened to critically endangered in just three years due to the unsustainable trade in their casques. Conservationists are worried African species could face the same threat if proper protections aren\u2019t in place. Image courtesy of Mohd Syafiq Sivakumaran Bin Abdullah via iNaturalist<\/a> (CC-BY\u2014NC)<\/p>\n![\"Hornbill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/hornbill-heads-seized-scaled.jpg\")
Hornbill heads originating from Cameroon. (Left) In November 2023, a professional wildlife trafficker purchased these hornbill heads, along with CITES-listed primates, from local hunters in Cameroon. (Right) In October 2023, forty-five African hornbill skulls arrived at JFK Airport, NY, USA, from Cameroon. Cameroon is emerging as a hotspot for the hornbill head sale. Image courtesy of Tinsman et. al \u2013 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.biocon.2025.111105<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hornbill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lome-Togo-fetish-market-skulls-hornbills_Nico-Arcilla-768x512.jpg\")
Hornbill heads for sale in Lome fetish market in Togo. Image credits: Nico Arcilla
\nWest Africa, a hub for African hornbill trade<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jugyoku_-_Crab_-_Walters_71851_-_Top.jpg\")
A 19th-century Japanese ornament made from hornbill ivory. In Southeast Asia, hornbill numbers were decimated due to the demand for their casques, which led to the listing of several Southeast Asian species on CITES in 1992. Image courtesy of Jugyoku\/Walters Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (public domain).<\/p>\n![\"Online](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/online-hornbill-listing-scaled.jpg\")
Online listing of hornbills and their parts for sale on Etsy and social media, including live birds. A 2024 study found more than 500 such listings between 2010 and 2024 on online platforms, with the majority of species originating from Africa. Image courtesy of Tinsman et. al \u2013 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.biocon.2025.111105<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Recent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ground_Hornbill_Omo_Valley_13124016413-scaled.jpg\")
Recent research shows the trade of Abyssinian Ground Hornbills (Bucorvus abyssinicus) has increased, with nearly 75 birds seized or offered for sale in Turkey, Dubai, the Netherlands, and the US since 2022. Image courtesy of Rod Waddington from Kergunyah via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n