How to Use hornbill in a Sentence

hornbill

noun
  • They are made from the beaks of a large bird, the helmeted hornbill.
    — Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2013
  • Here, a behind-the-scenes look at a southern ground hornbill on set.
    — Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
  • The helmeted hornbill is also at risk—but not from the pet trade.
    — National Geographic, 25 May 2016
  • Sylvester, the zoo's sole rhinoceros hornbill, flies over to greet him.
    — Joan Meiners, USA TODAY, 11 Sep. 2024
  • Male hornbills can inflate their wattles during mating season to attract females.
    — National Geographic, 2 Mar. 2020
  • An Asian exhibit in the birdhouse includes hornbills and Bali mynahs.
    — Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • According to Malaysian legend, hornbill spoons and buttons would change color in the presence of poison.
    — Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2013
  • Many have particularly bright plumage, such as parrots, parakeets, and hornbills; others, such as the bulbul, sing.
    — Longreads, 22 Mar. 2018
  • The male helmeted hornbill finished his parenting duties alone.
    — Yao-Hua Law, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2020
  • Rhinoceros hornbills and Bornean wren-babblers tend to populate the forest canopy above.
    — Laura Kiniry, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The helmeted hornbill is a huge, cackling bird native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
    — National Geographic, 16 Mar. 2016
  • Hop on tandem kayaks from Asian Detours (from $58) and paddle around the mangrove, with hornbills and herons flying above.
    — Wufei Yu, Outside Online, 27 Jan. 2020
  • Karl, an Abyssinian ground hornbill, had a new beak built for him with a 3-D printer, to replace one that was wearing away and wasn’t doing the job.
    — Martin Weil, Washington Post, 29 July 2019
  • Chinese traders are already advertising the tusk of the hornbill, an iconic Asian bird, as a poor man’s alternative to the rhino horn.
    — Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2018
  • Native people in Borneo have carved hornbill casques into ornaments for at least 2,000 years.
    — National Geographic, 16 Mar. 2016
  • This goes on hilariously multiple times, although the hornbill seems nonplussed by the mongoose’s efforts.
    — Cady Lang, Time, 6 Apr. 2018
  • The helmeted hornbill, a bird native to Southeast Asia, for example, is captured mainly for the pet trade, or for its beak to be used as medicine or to be carved like ivory.
    — Emily Harwitz, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2023
  • John Oliver was tapped as hornbill Zazu, Mufasa’s loyal confidant.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2017
  • That’s much further than virtually all other seed-carrying animals, save for the Asian elephant or the African hornbill.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 22 Mar. 2011
  • Unfortunately, morning on the river starts before sunrise, when the boatmen fire up the outboards and the hornbills start squawking and the rustle of leaves hints at the primates feeding in the canopy.
    — Paul Brady, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Nov. 2018
  • The ornamentation found on the beaks and tops of heads of hornbills are a structure similar to the casque on the cassowary, a bird species found in New Guinea and Australia.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
  • The Thomson's gazelles are sharing an outdoor living space with a couple of Southern ground hornbill birds and the zoo's half-dozen impalas, although the male impala is being kept apart from them.
    — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 June 2017
  • An observatory within, and a forest nearby, allow for some quiet birdwatching that includes spotting hornbills and peacocks.
    — Condé Nast Traveller, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Nov. 2022
  • The Maryland Zoo is saddened to announce the passing of North, a northern ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), at the age of 28.
    — Lexi Harpster, Baltimore Sun, 17 Feb. 2025
  • The two seem to be hitting it off already, the zoo said, spending a lot of time together on Kiden’s first day in the enclosure, an area that also includes Speke’s gazelle and southern ground hornbills.
    — oregonlive, 13 May 2020
  • The second phase of Elephant Trek will open in spring 2025 and will include habitats for siamangs, babirusa, rhinoceros hornbills and small-clawed otters.
    — Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2024
  • Jürgen Hooper also impressively multitasks as actor and puppeteer playing Zazu, the hornbill bird who is Mafa’s chief of staff.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022
  • The neighbourhood Given its private island locale, your neighbours—bar other guests—are monitor lizards, hornbills, and swallowtail butterflies.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2026
  • In Sagaing Division, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a man from the Naga ethnic group wearing a fur hat garnished with hornbill feathers and boar tusks raised his arm in a defiant salute.
    — Hannah Beech, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Feb. 2021
  • From the haunting call of the Indian paradise flycatcher to the flash of a Malabar pied hornbill's wings, the park is alive with exciting birds — a paradise for veteran birdwatchers and nascent enthusiasts alike.
    — Marion Miller, Travel + Leisure, 10 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hornbill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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