This hornbill lives in dry areas from Namibia into southwestern Angola. It hops along the ground to find insects, and males and females differ in bill and throat color.
The plumage is grey. Males have a large reddish bill and dark grey bare throat skin; females have a somewhat smaller bill and greenish throat skin. Juveniles have a smaller pale-orange bill.
It feeds mainly on the ground, hopping as it searches for insects such as grasshoppers and crickets. It also eats fruit, seeds, flowers and underground bulbs. In dry areas it may wander for food outside the breeding season.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.